Images show abandoned belongings and mock police stations at former scam centerBy SAKCHAI LALITKANCHANAKUL Associated Press and JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI Associated PressO'SMACH, Cambodia -- In the town of O’Smach, along Cambodia’s northern border with Thailand, stands a compound of abandoned buildings that were battered by shelling during recent weeks of armed clashes. The site, now occupied by Thai troops, had served as one of Cambodia’s notorious scam centers, according to Thai officials. A six-story building, shown to journalists and international observers on Monday during a trip organized by the Thai military, is scattered with documents, equipment and personal belongings, likely abandoned in haste. The Thai military said the compound was secured during the December clashes because Cambodian forces had used it as a military base. The set-ups served as essential to a scam where people are targeted by scam operators pretending to be officials or other authority figures.

Source: ABC News February 03, 2026 07:23 UTC