BREAKING NEWS: SCARS Institute Helps Rescue Scammer Slaves in Laos!

Agam Firmansyah Putra Successfully Rescued from a Laotian Scammer Slave Compound with SCARS Institute Help

Primary Category: Crimes & Criminals

Author:
•  SCARS Editorial Team – Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.

About This Article

In September 2024, SCARS Institute successfully assisted in the rescue of Agam Firmansyah Putra, a victim of an employment scam held captive in a casino complex in Northern Laos.

The complex, located in the Golden Triangle region, serves as a base for organized criminal gangs running large-scale scams with forced labor. After verifying his situation, SCARS coordinated with the International Justice Mission and Laotian rescue teams to free Agam. With support from the Indonesian Embassy, he was able to escape and return home safely to Indonesia. SCARS continues to support victims like Agam in their fight for freedom.

BREAKING NEWS: SCARS Institute Helps Rescue Scammer Slaves in Laos! - 2024

BREAKING NEWS: SCARS Institute Helps Rescue Scammer Slaves in Laos!

Successfully rescued from a Laotian Scammer Slave Compound: Agam Firmansyah Putra

In August 2024, SCARS was contacted by a victim of an employment scam who traveled to Laos for a great new job but only to find out he was being held captive in a Casino complex in Northern Laos. In September 2024, we successfully helped him escape!

The Golden Triangle is a region where Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar all come together and it is a favorite location for Chinese organized criminal gangs to operate large-scale casino complexes. These complexes also serve as the base of operations for vast scamming operations that rely on captive scam victims to carry out their scams.

One such complex operates within sight of the other countries inside of Laos. It was from here that an individual contacted SCARS Institute for help in August.

It took a while to confirm that the story we were being told was real, that he was being physically punished because he was not productive enough and did not want to scam other people but as soon as we did we turned to our friends at the International Justice Mission to coordinate a rescue with their in-country rescue team led by ‘Nick’. It took a few days to prepare and coordinate the escape of Agam Firmansyah Putra but once the plan and assets were in place, he escaped. With the help of the Indonesian Embassy, he obtained a replacement for his passport which the criminals had taken from him.

Now that he was successfully rescued from a scamming compound in Laos with the help of our partners at IJM (International Justice Mission) & Laotian Rescue Team, he is now back home in Indonesia.

Congratulations Agam Firmansyah Putra, we are proud to have helped. We wish you the very best in your future!

SCARS Institute is proud to be able to help support those in need!

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Some of our articles discuss various aspects of victims. This is both about better understanding victims (the science of victimology) and their behaviors and psychology. This helps us to educate victims/survivors about why these crimes happened and to not blame themselves, better develop recovery programs, and to help victims avoid scams in the future. At times this may sound like blaming the victim, but it does not blame scam victims, we are simply explaining the hows and whys of the experience victims have.

These articles, about the Psychology of Scams or Victim Psychology – meaning that all humans have psychological or cognitive characteristics in common that can either be exploited or work against us – help us all to understand the unique challenges victims face before, during, and after scams, fraud, or cybercrimes. These sometimes talk about some of the vulnerabilities the scammers exploit. Victims rarely have control of them or are even aware of them, until something like a scam happens and then they can learn how their mind works and how to overcome these mechanisms.

Articles like these help victims and others understand these processes and how to help prevent them from being exploited again or to help them recover more easily by understanding their post-scam behaviors. Learn more about the Psychology of Scams at www.ScamPsychology.org

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Note about Mindfulness: Mindfulness practices have the potential to create psychological distress for some individuals. Please consult a mental health professional or experienced meditation instructor for guidance should you encounter difficulties.

While any self-help techniques outlined herein may be beneficial for scam victims seeking to recover from their experience and move towards recovery, it is important to consult with a qualified mental health professional before initiating any course of action. Each individual’s experience and needs are unique, and what works for one person may not be suitable for another.

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The following specific modalities within the practice of psychology are restricted to psychologists appropriately trained in the use of such modalities:

  • Diagnosis: The diagnosis of mental, emotional, or brain disorders and related behaviors.
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