Cambodia Cyber and Romance Scams

It often begins innocently: a message from someone who shares interests, speaks gently, and invests time to build emotional trust. Gradually, conversations shift to financial advice or investment opportunities, usually involving cryptocurrency or foreign exchange platforms that appear legitimate. Victims are persuaded to deposit funds into these “shared accounts,” believing they are building a future together. Then, without warning, access is blocked, the contact disappears, and the website vanishes.

By the time families realize what has happened, funds are often converted into USDT or Bitcoin, fragmented across multiple wallets, and transferred through offshore exchanges in Hong Kong, Singapore, or Dubai. These schemes, known as “pig butchering” scams, can wipe out life savings in days.

Beyond financial devastation, victims experience profound emotional harm, shame, guilt, and isolation. Many hesitate to report their cases, fearing judgment or disbelief. At SJKP LLP, we view every client’s experience with empathy, confidentiality, and legal precision. We ensure victims and their families understand one truth: they are not alone, and they are not to blame. The manipulation is systemic and designed to break psychological defenses.

Victims can take powerful steps to fight back. Through legal intervention, our firm assists in: 

- Preserving evidence(chat logs, transaction IDs, exchange data) before it disappears. 

- Filing international complaints via Interpol and embassies to trigger cross-border investigations. 

- Pursuing asset recovery using blockchain forensic tools to trace and freeze stolen funds. 

- Filing civil claims against exchanges or intermediaries that facilitated laundering.

Our lawyers collaborate with cryptocurrency experts, cybersecurity specialists, and foreign counsel to act quickly, because every hour matters in preventing permanent loss.

This is not merely cybercrime; it is modern slavery. Victims are exploited to commit crimes against others, trapped in cycles of coercion and fear. Many of those arrested in “scam crackdowns” are not perpetrators but victims themselves, trafficked, abused, and silenced. The United Nations, INTERPOL, and NGOs such as IOM have declared Cambodia’s scam crisis a regional human rights emergency. 

JKP LLP works with international partners to ensure victims are recognized as trafficking victims under the Palermo Protocol, not criminals. 

We coordinate: 

- Official rescue requests through embassies and police task forces. 

- Safe return and repatriation in cooperation with humanitarian agencies. 

- Medical, psychological, and legal rehabilitation** once victims return home.

Families often make the mistake of hiring unverified “private rescue brokers,” exposing themselves to extortion or danger. We strongly advise using only official, lawyer-led channels that guarantee safety and legitimacy.

1. Trace the stolen funds using transaction hashes and blockchain analytics. 

2. Preserve data before exchanges or wallets delete or anonymize records. 

3. Freeze suspicious accounts through emergency injunctions and legal orders. 

4. Recover assets via restitution claims or negotiated settlements.

Our cross-border recovery team collaborates with law enforcement, regulators, and financial institutions to pursue recovery through legitimate, enforceable channels. Even partial recovery can restore dignity and hope for affected families.

We guide families through urgent steps: 

- File missing person reports with embassies and INTERPOL. 

- Submit formal affidavits documenting last contact, location, and financial links. 

- Provide evidence to trigger cross-border coordination among agencies.

Our attorneys act as your direct representatives in dealing with embassies, media, and authorities, ensuring the case remains active, credible, and legally protected.

We also connect families with trauma counselors, support groups, and multilingual interpreters. Legal action alone cannot heal, but combined with compassion and communication, it can bring both accountability and closure.