Some people like to use the term "scam centres" or "scam compounds" but we prefer the term "Fraud Factories".
A fraud factory is a much more appropriate description because such places are used to commit fraud on an industrial scale.
Also, we really should not use the word "scam" because it diminishes the importance of the conduct: fraud sounds more serious and all fraud is serious. Also, just to be a bit legal about it, criminals are convicted because they commit fraud. They are not convicted of conducting "a scam".
And if the word "fraud" is good enough for hundreds of years of law, it should be good enough for now.
Those who talk of "scam compounds" tie them in with forced labour, kidnapping and mistreatment of those working there. And that certainly happens.
But many fraud factories are staffed with people who know exactly what they are doing, who go to work in the morning, go home at night and have no conscience about the people they defraud.
Such fraud factories are present all over the world but it often seems as if South East Asia has cornered the market. It hasn't: in India, office blocks house multiple fraud factories and there are many such office blocks.
So, while we are, of course, concerned that people are mistreated, our concentration is on those who are victimised and on working to reduce the success of such operations because, simply, if such operations were not so profitable, there would be less of them.
Fraud factories grew out of boiler rooms which are still a very common form of fraud operation.
Using whatever means of communication that works, the faster, the better Criminal gangs which often have the tacit or even open support of local authorities and law enforcement, are operated on many different structures. Very common is the pyramid: many people are engaged in trying to hook a victim. Once the bait has been taken, even lightly, a more senior person takes over, and the bigger the potential prize, the higher up the pyramid the victim progresses, often being fed a stream of ever-more important sounding - and completely fake - job titles.
Many of the techniques described in these pages are operated out of fraud factories.
