How to Report Cybercrime and Online Fraud in Cambodia (2026)

Cambodia is a sovereign state that sits on both sides of the world's cyber-fraud problem: it hosts scam-compound operations that target victims worldwide, and its own residents face the same phishing, banking and investment scams as anywhere else. Whichever side you are dealing with, this guide shows who to contact in Cambodia, how to preserve evidence, and how to try to get your money back. Act fast: the sooner you tell your bank, the better your odds.

Primary sources: National Police Scam Reporting portal · CamCERT · National Bank of Cambodia

First: stop the loss

1. Contact your bank or card issuer immediately. If you sent money or shared card details, call the number on your card or statement, report the fraud, and ask them to stop or recall the payment and freeze the account. For card payments, ask about a chargeback. Our chargeback guide explains how.
2. Stop all contact with the scammer. Never send more money to "release" or "verify" funds, and never install remote-access software a caller asks for. That is the scam. Block the number, email and account.
3. Secure your accounts by changing passwords, signing out other devices and turning on two-step verification. If you clicked a link, see what to do after clicking a phishing link.
4. Keep evidence: messages, payment references, wallet addresses, usernames and screenshots, saved before the scammer can delete them.

Who to report to

• Emergency or a crime in progress: call 117 for police, 118 for fire, or 119 for ambulance.
• A scam, fraud or online crime: report through the National Police's Scam Reporting portal at hotline.police.gov.kh, run by the Anti-Cybercrime Department (no confirmed public phone number, use the portal).
• A cyberattack or security incident, such as a hacked account or business system: report to CamCERT, under the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications, at camcert.gov.kh/en/report-incident or [email protected].
• Bank or payment fraud: your bank first, then the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), which runs a consumer-complaint mechanism for licensed banks and payment institutions.

Reporting does not return your money by itself, but it creates a record and helps authorities act against operations that harm many victims at once. Report even if you lost nothing.

Getting your money back

Cambodia's currency is the Riel (KHR), but the US dollar circulates alongside it for most everyday and cross-border payments, so many victims will have paid in USD. How you paid decides your options, and speed is everything.

How you paid	What to do
Bank transfer	Call your bank within minutes to try to stop or recall the payment. Ask whether it will reimburse you, and file a formal complaint.
Debit or credit card	Ask your card issuer for a chargeback and dispute the transaction in writing. Card payments carry the strongest protection.
Crypto, cash app or gift cards	Rarely recoverable. Report to the platform and the police at once, and be wary of anyone who contacts you afterward offering to "recover" the funds for a fee, that is usually a second scam.

There is no automatic reimbursement scheme for bank-transfer or crypto fraud in Cambodia. Report to the police, escalate through your bank's complaints process, and keep every reference number you receive.

Scams that hit Cambodia

• Investment and romance scams run from inside Cambodia, commonly called "pig butchering," where a stranger builds a relationship online before steering the victim to a fake trading platform. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime and the US State Department's 2025 Trafficking in Persons report document many as running out of scam compounds staffed partly by trafficked, forced labour, a human-rights issue alongside the financial one. Report such an operation to the police portal above regardless of where you are.
• Telegram-based fraud and crypto investment pitches aimed at residents and people abroad, flagged separately by Cambodia's Telecommunication Regulator.

See how the underlying messaging tricks work in our explainer on how phishing works and how to stop it.

The law and your data

You may see Cambodia's cyber rules called a "Cybercrime Law" online. That law was drafted in 2016 but never enacted. The statute actually in force is the Law on Anti-Technology Fraud, effective 7 April 2026, which targets online scam operations and allows penalties up to life imprisonment for compound organisers. Earlier offences were prosecuted under the 2009 Criminal Code and the 2015 Telecommunications Law.

Cambodia has no comprehensive data protection law and no dedicated data protection authority. If your data is leaked or misused, there is no single regulator to complain to as in the EU or UK; report a hack-related breach to CamCERT, or fraud and extortion to the police. This is subject to change as the legal framework develops.

FAQ

Is there really a "Cambodia Cybercrime Law"?

No. A draft Cybercrime Law was proposed in 2016 but never passed. The law now in force against online scams is the Law on Anti-Technology Fraud, effective 7 April 2026.

My personal data was leaked. Is there a data protection authority I can complain to?

Not currently. Cambodia has no comprehensive data protection law or dedicated regulator. Report a hack-related breach to CamCERT, and fraud or extortion using your data to the police.

I'm dealing with a scam that seems to be run from a compound in Cambodia. What should I do?

Stop contact, report to the platform where you were contacted, alert your bank, and file a report with the National Police's Scam Reporting portal even if you are not in Cambodia. Do not travel there to confront anyone.

Sources: National Police Scam Reporting portal · CamCERT · National Bank of Cambodia · UNODC, "Inflection Point" (April 2025) · US Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report 2025 · Tilleke & Gibbins, Cambodia Data Protection Guide (2024)

If you have been targeted, you are not alone. See our country-by-country cybercrime help hub for step-by-step reporting and recovery guides.