Cambodia's Telecom Minister Flags Foreign SIM Cards as Key Tool in Cross-Border Online Scams

Cambodia's Minister of Posts and Telecommunications has raised the alarm over the use of foreign-issued SIM cards by online scam networks, urging stronger global cooperation to tackle cross-border fraud.

Speaking at the International Conference on Combating Online Scams (ICCOS-2026) in Phnom Penh on September 23, Chea Vandeth explained that criminal syndicates operating in Cambodia routinely acquire SIM cards from other countries and use international roaming to make their calls and texts appear local to targets abroad.

"Criminals use phone numbers from the countries of the people they want to scam," Vandeth told delegates, noting that this technique makes fraudulent contact far more convincing to victims.

He revealed that Cambodian authorities have found large shipments of foreign SIM cards smuggled into the country specifically for use in scam operations. In one notable case, officers seized more than 50,000 SIM cards from multiple countries hidden inside a relatively small scam compound.

Vandeth urged every country to tighten SIM card registration requirements and enforce robust identity checks before issuing cards. "No telco anywhere in the world should be allowed to sell anonymous SIM cards," he said.

He also outlined steps Cambodia has already taken domestically. Since 2022, the Telecommunication Regulator of Cambodia (TRC) has shut down more than 330 illegal base stations that were providing unauthorized network services linked to online scams. A dedicated monitoring team has also helped block over 53,000 illicit websites, while partnerships with major platforms including Meta, Telegram and Binance have led to the removal of more than 5,300 accounts, pages and groups tied to scam recruitment, fake job postings and online fraud.

Despite these efforts, Vandeth stressed that domestic action alone is not enough. "Cambodia cannot solve this problem on our own," he said, calling on governments, regulators, law enforcement, financial institutions, telecom companies and digital platforms to share intelligence, strengthen identity verification and close regulatory loopholes that criminals exploit. "Only coordinated international action can close this gap," he added.