GASO Exclusive: Ep. 01 - Rescuing trafficked scammers (Chinese)

GASO's secret ops/rescue team is being interviewed on this podcast. Here they discuss:

1. How does GASO decide which dog* to save?

2. How do they approach GASO?

2. Where are they most commonly from? What nationality do they target for scamming?

3. Does GASO only do rescues in Cambodia?

4. How does GASO determine if the dog is sincere and not attempting to trick them?

5. Are there any dogs who left a profound memory?

6. What is the worst incident that they have heard of?

7. How are dogs being brainwashed in the scam industry?

8. What challenges does GASO face?

9. And lastly, what is GASO's advice to the public who are looking for jobs overseas?

*From "dog push" or 狗推, referring to the lowest level scam company worker talking daily to pig butchering scam victims online. They themselves can be human trafficking victims.

English transcript (machine translated with some editing):

Snippet: Hello and welcome to the Global Anti-Scam Org Show. Welcome to our first episode. I'm the host of tonight's episode, Snippet. And today? I want to talk about the topic of high paying job scams. In recent years, there are too many people who have been recruited from the Internet by high salaries, and then go abroad. Then they find out it's a scam, it's a scam to be tricked into going abroad as a scam. We are pleased to have our Global Anti-Scam rescue team with us today. Welcome our guests: Xiao Wen, watermelon, Candy.

Candy: I'm Candy.

Xiao Wen: Hello everyone, I'm Xiao Wen.

Watermelon: Hello, everyone, I'm Watermelon.

Snippet: Hello. I heard that you all have been doing this rescue operation since last year, but this rescue is it only focusing on Cambodia?

Xiao Wen: Uh, yeah, because this thing in Cambodia is too, too much that search is those who are trapped.

Snippet: Well, then I would like to ask Candy. For GASO what kind of criteria is used to choose to save this trapped person, or that trapped person? Through what channel do they ask GASO for help?

Candy: Through our Facebook, our GASO Facebook site, and Instagram site, they would contact us to say that they are trapped in, for example, say Cambodia.

Snippet: What about the basis for this request for help? What are you all doing to find out if you want to save the seeker?

Candy: Uh yes, of course we want to make sure that he is really trapped, in that is he was really tricked to go abroad to work for the fraudulent company, so that is we will first try to understand the situation.

Snippet: Uh good, understood, then that I would like to ask about that. Watermelon, those who usually come to ask for help, roughly which countries are the people?

Watermelon: People seeking help, most of the more usual we see is China, and then Taiwan, Malaysia, and then recently there is also Thai and Vietnamese who come to us for help.

Snippet: Ah, good to know. Then I would like to ask Candy, do you mean that you only choose people who are stranded in Cambodia at the moment? Or are you saying that you can also rescue people from other countries?

Candy: Of course. Of course it is, how to say, is to save as much as possible, but so far only Cambodia it is relatively easy to get assistance. Because on the influence side of the Malaysian stranded, the Malaysian embassy in Cambodia will be more receptive. And with GASO is actually always in contact. Although looking at any place, if that place has no embassy, if there is an embassy so it will be more convenient.

Snippet: Well, understood. Then I would also like to ask a question from Xiaowen. Since you were last year just doing rescue operation, is there any rather serious case of victims that have contacted you?

Xiao Wen: Yes, one of them is this fraud company. It is to do especially for the victims of a certain country [USA] to carry out fraud, and then when he contacted us, he said that he asked for the police of that country to give him money, so that he can cooperate with us, and then give us more information of that country's victims. Then we were surprised to hear that the rescue work was being done in this way. But when we approached him, we felt that he seemed to be communicating with us in a negotiating way, as if we were doing a business, you have to give me money and I will give you information. So I was very struck by the fact that the other side was asking for help. And then the whole process, we do not feel that he is very willing to assist, is to cooperate with us to do is to help him rescue, to save him out, instead he gives us the feeling is to come to us to ask for money, right, with another channel to ask for money from us.

Snippet: Yes, understood. In fact, in Southeast Asian countries, like Cambodia, if this is the case, as long as we have to pay, a ransom, so to speak, then they can assist us, and then go to rescue the stranded person is this way, well.

Xiao Wen: In fact, the procedure should be like this, that is, the trapped people, they should directly call their family members to report the case in their own country. Then contact the embassy of the country where they are trapped, and then from there the embassy will have received their message before they do the rescue operation. And then in the process. If you meet a darker company, they may sell you to another park before they get the message (to release the dog), or if you run into a more lenient scam company, they will cooperate with the embassy to release the trapped person.

Snippet: After the person in distress is released, does someone go pick up the person in distress, or the person in distress has to go to the embassy himself, or what?

Xiao Wen: The trapped person who is rescued, they will leave the fraudulent company with the embassy staff, and then go to the local police to report the case, and also to take a statement. Then, if the person in distress has a passport, he can go out on a guarantee after the statement is taken. If the trapped person comes out by sneaking to escape the fraudulent company, then he will be sent to the immigration office, is to accept the work of repatriation.

Snippet: Understood, so this way, the whole rescue operations this way, about how long does it take?

Watermelon: Usually it takes about two weeks from the time we receive the distress message to the time we cooperate with the family and the time we contact the embassy.

Snippet: Understood, Candy, I would like to ask you, is there any case that is more tragic than the one that is profound in this rescue operation?

Candy: By saying that it is a rescue, and then to the rescue operation, it is possible that if the rescue operation is not successful, then, the trapped person may be beaten very badly. Yes, the worse thing is that there may be some trapped people may, he will be some psychological imbalance, or the kind of psychological disorder. He can't stand that kind of torture, he may choose to jump off a building. Jumping from a building, so this is the most dilapidated, and then we can not save him. Then that he will certainly suffer that punishment of that fraudulent group. For example, sold to another company, or be beaten and beaten to be put in that small black room and so on.

Watermelon: So this way you say they may have been beaten, these situations that will have is will be a deadly serious situation. This is I see in fact there are many things, they are armed, then I also want to understand, this part said, they are in mortal danger, that is, in addition to his own may not be able to stand, and then his heart in the torture situation, then he may choose to jump on his own to commit suicide this way. Then, in addition to this situation, we also encountered, they may be in life-threatening situations as well.

Candy: Yes. There must be ah, because you they may not know to what extent they will beat people. There are some that we have seen, there are some that are scarred kind. And then the beaten can only lie in their own bed, and then can not move, just can not move kind of.

Snippet: The work is really horrible. Yes, well. Then I also want to ask is that these is the trapped ah, is cheated to this Cambodia, fraudulent countries these, they are how is will encounter is these fraudulent companies how to brainwash them? It is the brainwashing that does this scamming work, this way?

Watermelon: Yes, there may be some who don't know he will be duped over there, and then it may be that the company may brainwash him. Now that you chose to work abroad, why don't you just make good money, and then go back home? So the company will give them some, for example, kind of guarantee to say that you do six months, or you do a year you can go back. Whether you have no money, you can go back, so there are some people who are brainwashed, even if he was cheated in the past, he did not want to do by this ranks, but in the end he is also the choice, is just stay over there about six months to one year, and then see if they can just earn some money.

Xiao Wen: Well yes, and usually how to say it? The owner or management of the fraudulent company, they will use carrot and sticks and they brainwash, because... After looking at the high salaries on the Internet, many people who are cheated are actually looking for a higher paying job in their hearts, and then because many are from poor countries or poor families, they just say, "Hey, I can earn more money, so I want to try, and then go over there." Usually they will reward those high performers in front of them. Also, put a large pile of money on the table, and then to tempt them saying, hey, since you've come already anyway, just stay to get the job done? The money is also yours, you can go back to live well. Many of those who were cheated past the distressed, and they are very young. They are very simple-minded and naïve, so with these temptations, they may think, "Since I'm here anyway, I'll just do a good job quietly and obediently. Maybe there are some high pay off, I can also earn some money back home." These are in their mindset. For those who are more insubordinate and disobedient, to those, say, troublemakers? If soft methods cannot convince them? The company will start to use their hard methods is to beat them, sometimes let them feel afraid or close the door, do not give them food, so let them feel very desperate, and then they're already cornered. The last resort, hopefully these trapped people can behave themselves, that's the situation.

Candy: Yeah, the youngest, we've met, like, sixteen years old. Got to get paid.

Xiao Wen: Here you can imagine a young man of sixteen or seventeen years old, he is afraid of these brainwashing methods, how much he can control himself? Because he also have not been outside home, is from an ordinary family, a very simple family. For these are the management or boss level people who have been stuck for years. It's really hard for them.

Snippet: Yes, speaking of sounding human is, because after all, he is so young, that he hearing these is brainwashing words, in fact, is really quite pleasing, yes. Then I also want to ask like this kind of rescue operation, what are some of the challenged you have encountered? What are the more difficult places?

Xiao Wen: At the beginning when we were doing this rescue operation, we were actually really feeling our way around, not knowing what the situation was. Then we contacted the family and worked together to find a way to get the family to go to report the case in their country, and then hope that the police in their country can help them. But after understanding the situation better it is actually very difficult to rescue across the border. Well, for many of those police in small town, they don't have any way to give the family some assistance, and then at that time we started to contact the embassy. Embassy, at that time we also need the cooperation of the family to turn up the heat, to call and call and beg the embassy for help, and then when the embassy accepts, they have to verify the information first, they have to review the information of the person who asked for help. And then also, before we know how it's like, we would wonder why is the embassy not replying? Later we find out the embassy is working on it in fact. It has in helping those stranded people. In the end (going through) the embassy can be very powerful to get those trapped people out.

Snippet: So it sounds like the whole rescue process is really not easy, is also very hard. Then I think actually compared to this rescue is the victim. Well, in fact, it is really necessary to establish a trust basis with you. This way in fact to make the whole process can go smoothly.

Candy: Yes, and work in fraudulent companies, they sometimes have unexpected situations, as if the company will suddenly wipe everyone's phones. Or they will take away all their employees' cell phones, so suddenly we have and no way to contact them, we will be anxious to know what happened to them, there is time to be trapped, they will disappear for days before reappearing. During the that period, we also could not contact him, because you also really do not understand the situation there, what was the situation at that time.

Snippet: So I would like to ask you all about this situation, is there any advice for these people who are looking for a job? Is there any advice or advice to avoid encountering this kind of likely fraud? This situation?

Xiao Wen: I think that well, simply put, a pie doesn't just fall down from the sky. You just, to put it bluntly. You do not have any education, work experience is non-existent, still very young, why recruit you? You then ask these highly paid jobs say they are so happy. That is to say all airline tickets, food and housing, such quality conditions are offered to you. When you have no education, no work, no experience or call you over, is really to think about, really pie don't just fall down from the sky, and in the young people looking for work, what's needed is family and more communication, and then the parents well, all seem to be more worried about their children, they will also help filter. These are not really legitimate industries.

Candy: Well, this way actually for these is the newcomers, that should say, in fact, more will, want to look for this work abroad, in fact, is that they want is to fight fate, so to speak, that one can earn a little more money, but in fact, someone in the family can counsel you. You may still feel that do not want to believe your family, or decided to, say, rebel. Then I think this time what's really needed is that every person, that need to think carefully his part, hope they can have more communication with family and friends, and then also can quickly do a piece. Then you also need to do the verification work, is to make sure that the company is really a legitimate company. And if it is in Southeast Asian countries, then there is a high chance that these are frauds. I also hope that those who see the Internet to see these high-paying job ads... I hope everyone can avoid it. Also be more careful.

Snippet: That's the end of this program. Thank you again for our guests, and thank you for listening, and thank you very much for the rescue team that did all the rescue operations and thank you for your efforts, and I hope your rescue work goes well.

Thank you. Okay, thank you.

Thank you for hosting.

Transcribed with Sonix, translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)