Htet Nadi (NP News) - November 14
According to a statement from the government's information team, 502 out of the 759 foreign nationals arrested in Shan State for online gambling fraud during the three-month period from August 1 to October 31, 2026, were Chinese nationals who had been provided with land and protection by armed groups in the border area.
The examination of computers and phones seized from the arrested individuals revealed that they mainly targeted Chinese citizens and so they used popular dating and communication applications such as Safe W, QQ, Yuanbao, Dou Yu, Feishu, Safe X, WeChat, Litmatch, and Telegram to commit fraud.
According to information in the statement, scams carried out through these applications can be broadly classified into four types: scams targeting people motivated by greed, scams involving lottery and prize incentives, scams targeting gambling enthusiasts, and scams offering fake employment opportunities.
According to those arrested, fraudsters primarily target people with little knowledge, low technology, and greed for profit, and they tailor their approach based on the target's age, hobbies, and occupation.
According to the investigation into the arrests, they often impersonate military and police officials, government officials, wealthy businessmen, and intellectuals to build trust, and often create the necessary photos, identifi cation documents, and lifestyles to make them look natural.
They then deceive victims through various methods by pretending to share similar interests and building relationships with them. According to the report, scammers target young people by developing romantic relationships with them and requesting money under the pretext of family or medical emergencies. They also lure people motivated by greed with promises of high returns from fake investment applications and stock trading schemes, before disappearing and shutting down the applications after receiving their money.
Furthermore, investigations revealed that they also commit fraud by sending fake website links mimicking banks and government departments under the pretext of winning lucky draws and prize money via SMS, email, and social media; fabricating results to make it appear as though users are winning on fake online gambling platforms; and luring victims with promises of high-paying work-from-home jobs to demand registration and deposit fees.
Now, advanced AI technology called Deepfake is reportedly being used to create facial and voice images of celebrities, business people, and government officials.
Through this, fake pages that resemble official websites of news outlets are created, and these individuals are reported to be supporting investment programs, as well as publishing fake interviews and news articles.
It will take a long time to completely eradicate these criminal networks, which are so far ahead in terms of technology and systems, according to NGO worker Judah Tanner during an Al Jazeera documentary about money-laundering gangs along the Myanmar-Thailand border, released around four months ago.
“The Chinese, as business people, are far ahead in terms of how to shape the future of this industry. We are still far behind in catching up with them,” he lamented.
In addition, it has been known that most of these online gambling scams have entered the country illegally through border routes from neighboring countries, including Thailand.
They include victims of human trafficking who were recruited through social media with job offers and people who are fleeing after committing crimes. This is why, they often operate online fraud operations based in lawless areas where insurgent groups are based in border areas.
Currently, these operations have become a form of transnational crime, giving rise to related offences such as money laundering and human trafficking, while also posing threats to international economic stability and security.
Therefore, the Myanmar government has taken the fight against online scams and illegal gambling as a matter of national responsibility and is actively working to crack down on these activities through decisive and effective cooperation with regional forces as well as neighboring countries. –
