Trapped in a digital hellscape

A notorious scam hub on the Myanmar side of the border, as seen from Tak, Thailand. A multinational effort helped free thousands forced to work in these fraud centres, yet they continue to proliferate unabated. — Lauren DeCicca/The New York Times

THERE are usually no international flights from the airport in Mae Sot, a Thai town on the border with Myanmar.

But recently, hundreds of people boarded direct flights to China after being rescued from a 21st-century scourge – online scam mills that have defrauded victims worldwide of tens of billions of US dollars.