Televisora de Noticias y Radioperiodismo

A sheep farmer in Kyrgyzstan. A building painter in Germany. A pastry chef in Turkey. Across the globe, some 50,000 victims from at least 17 countries were targeted by just one person, himself a trafficking and abuse victim. A vast supply chain of American technology helps make this kind of industrial-scale scamming possible, enabling scammers to exploit targets from deep inside compounds in Myanmar.

It’s a story of staggering global proportions that touches on those hurt on both sides of the scam. It's journalism that’s uniquely AP — and your support helps make our continued reporting possible.

DONATE

This reporting took AP journalists a full year to complete. Erika Kinetz, one of AP’s award-winning investigative reporters, shares:

This story took a lot of time and patience to build. We dug into more than 200,000 connections made by devices at scam compounds in Myanmar over the course of a year. We worked with a lot of people to do blockchain analysis, pull together revelatory satellite imagery and dig into public records. And in the end, we were able to say something new.

We’re continuing to dig deep on global scams. But the meticulous investigative reporting that Erika and her fellow AP journalists produce requires time, resources and support. Donors like you help make that possible. Will you make a donation in support of our investigative journalism?

DONATE

P.S. A monthly or annual gift is the most sustainable way to support our work. Our most loyal donors receive exclusive benefits like conversations with AP journalists. Make a recurring gift to join us Aug. 19 for the next of these Q+As about what it’s like to cover extreme weather up close and report amid a changing climate.