Call centre scams in Myanmar, associated mainly with its lawless border regions, are also setting up shop in the commercial hub Yangon, according to Radio Free Asia (RFA).
Operators are taking advantage not only of the availability of cheap office space in a depressed economy, but “a nearly limitless pool of educated, unemployed Yangon residents”, RFA reports, citing the results of an investigation by RFA Burmese.
Unlike the operations in places like Shwe Kokko, the town controlled by Chinese gangsters on the border opposite Mae Sot in Thailand, the Yangon-based centres are said to boast a conventional business environment with no abuse of workers, the report said.
RFA Burmese interviewed young people in Yangon who responded to advertisements for online sales jobs and were hired in a matter of minutes after answering a few questions over a messaging app.
New hires were sent to MMB Tower, a modern office building located in the heart of Yangon. There they joined scores of others from Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, China and Thailand, RFA said.
