Stranded scammers in Myawaddy fall victim, paying 20 million kyat for false evacuation pledges
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Phyo/Thant Zin (NP News) - Dec 24
A group has emerged in Myawaddy, a town on the Myanmar-Thai border in Kayin State, that is swindling up to 20 million kyat in car fares by promising to take stranded online scammers back to the mainland, a source familiar with the matter told The Statesman Journal.
Currently, the Tatmadaw and allied groups are working to eradicate online fraud and gambling operation along the Myanmar-Thailand border, and many people involved in the online fraud industry are reportedly stranded in Myawaddy.
A person familiar with the matter said that a group has also emerged on the TikTok social media that is defrauding stranded people of 2 to 20 million kyat in transportation fares by promising to send them home.
“They are extorting money through TikTok. 50 percent of people returning from Myawaddy are blocked. So, people end up moving around in groups without being able to exit by any route, and as a result, many of them have been badly deceived. One girl is being cheated for about 20 million kyat. They are cheating each other. There are about five to six people who are being deceived. It’s like scammers are cheating each other,” he said.
In addition, he said, those who join the fraudulent group may be forced to re-enter the scam.
“Another concern is that they will take them in a car and lie to them, saying that they can work in China. We are worried that, instead of sending them, they will be sold into scam operations. The girl who is doing the scamming now works at a garment factory in Myawaddy. The girl is calling them and saying that she will send them from Myawaddy. That girl is lying,” he said.
The current fare from Myawaddy to Yangon for ordinary people is up to 120,000 kyat per person.
However, in addition to deceiving the above-mentioned scammers, they are also deceiving the Shan State registration number 13 holders in Myawaddy by offering them a price ranging from 2 to 3 million kyat and promising to return them with insurance, he said.
“They asked for 2 million or 3 million kyat to be sent through their accounts. Many people—often NRC card holders starting with "13/"—were there to work. But due to the current situation, they cannot go back. The routes are blocked. So, the scammers lure them out by claiming that there is another way they can travel. That, too, is a scam,” the source said.
According to recent reports, holders of '13/' cards are currently being charged between 450,000 and 550,000 kyats on the ground, although the price has not risen to the level of the vehicle fees mentioned by the above source.