Sri Lanka sees ‘alarming’ rise in cybercrime as scam networks relocate from south-east Asia

Experts say criminal networks favour Sri Lanka due to ease of getting tourist visas and limited regulation on sim cards and internet connections

Experts have warned that Sri Lanka is emerging as a hub for transnational cybercrime, after a crackdown in south-east Asia pushed Chinese-run criminal networks to relocate their vast scam operations.

Sri Lankan police spokesperson Fredrick Wootler said the country was witnessing an “alarming increase of cybercrimes” perpetrated by people entering the country as tourists, and then illegally setting up scam operations targeting people across the world.

Authorities in Sri Lanka have carried out more than a dozen raids on alleged scam operations in the country since the beginning of the year, arresting and deporting almost 700 foreigners accused of involvement.

On Thursday, the Sri Lankan police carried out its latest raid in the capital Colombo where they detained 18 Chinese citizens and one from Laos. The Guardian visited the site of the raid, and found that the scammers had left behind dozens of fake documents, from a falsified legal certification, fake US treasury documents and fake company registration, stating their company was worth $10bn.

An officer from the crime investigation bureau who carried out the raid, and wished to remain anonymous, said they had also discovered 62 passports, mostly for Chinese nationals.

“They had phones, laptops, pen drives, RAMs, a processor, a stamp to forge documents, and so many forged documents. One certificate, which we found was also forged to show that they were a business registered in the US, was framed and hung on the wall,” he said.

The majority of those arrested and deported for involvement in scams this year have been Chinese citizens, but people from Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Laos, the Philippines, Malaysia and Myanmar have also been detained in raids. The police said all those arrested had come to Sri Lanka on tourist visas.