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Episode details

World Service,26 Mar 2026,27 mins

The cities built on scamming us all

The Global Story

Available for over a year

Have you ever received a call from a stranger regarding student loans you don’t owe? An Amazon order you never placed? An unpaid parking ticket for a car you don’t own? If so, it’s possible that you’ve been the target of a scam orchestrated by a criminal syndicate thousands of miles away. The so-called “scam centres” of Southeast Asia bring in billions of dollars a year, expertly swindling unsuspecting foreigners out of their savings. Today, BBC Southeast Asia correspondent Jonathan Head offers an inside look at these formidable hubs of corruption and human trafficking, and explains how governments around the world are working to intervene. Producers: Xandra Ellin and Viv Jones Executive producer: Bridget Harney Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: New high rises in the city of Shwe Kokko, Myanmar, visible from Thailand's border. Credit: Jonathan Head/BBC.

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