Global scam industry evolving at ‘unprecedented scale’ despite recent crackdown

Mae Sot, Thailand
CNN
 — 

Hundreds of men and women stand in rows, divided by nationality, in the courtyard of a white-walled compound, flanked by armed guards in fatigues.

“Do you want to go home?” a voice shouts in the video obtained by CNN. They raise their hands. “Yes,” they reply in chorus.

The group were among around 7,000 people recently released from scam centers run by criminal gangs and warlords operating along Myanmar’s border with Thailand, where many are held against their will and forced to work conning ordinary people, including American citizens, out of their life savings.

Some volunteer to work in the compounds. But many…