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Bangladeshi national Abdus Salam thought he had snared a high-paying IT job in Cambodia in 2022, and his family mortgaged their land to pay the recruitment fees. Instead, he was forced to work as a scammer in Cambodia, and was held captive in three scam comp'Almost everyone believed us': Bangladeshi man trafficked to scam compounds told to target Singaporeans
Bangladeshi national Abdus Salam thought he had snared a high-paying IT job in Cambodia in 2022, and his family mortgaged their land to pay the recruitment fees. Instead, he was forced to work as a scammer in Cambodia, and was held captive in three scam compounds over five months until he was rescued in September 2022. Now home in Bangladesh, Mr Salam, 27, is a survivor empowerment officer with the Humanity Research Consultancy (HRC), supporting the repatriation of human trafficking victims held in scam compounds. In March, he told The Straits Times over Zoom from Bangladesh that scammers recruit not only migrant workers – they advertise lucrative job offers to also lure the educated. Non-profit organisation Global Anti-Scam Organisation (Gaso) told ST it helped to rescue Mr Salam from the scam compound. He has spoken to Time magazine about his experience as a human trafficking victim. In early 2022, the engineering graduate accepted an IT job in Cambodia through a broker, who was a trusted childhood friend. Read more