184. Escape from Bamban: One man’s scam farm nightmare in the Philippines

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Escape from Bamban: One Man’s Scam Farm Nightmare in the Philippines"

Podcast Information

• Title: Click Here
• Host/Author: Recorded Future News
• Description: Click Here delves into true stories surrounding the individuals shaping our digital landscape. Hosted by former NPR correspondent Dina Temple-Raston, the podcast explores topics like ransomware attacks and hacker activities without heavy technical jargon, offering insights every Tuesday and Friday.

Episode Details

• Episode Number: 184
• Title: Escape from Bamban: One Man’s Scam Farm Nightmare in the Philippines
• Release Date: November 19, 2024

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Introduction to Dylan’s Ordeal

The episode opens with Dina Temple-Raston setting the stage for a harrowing tale of coercion and cybercrime:

“...those hustles are coming out of Southeast Asia, and some of them are being committed by People who are forced to scam at gunpoint.” [00:02]

Dylan’s Arrival in Bamban

Dylan, whose full identity is protected, recounts his initial journey:

"I arrived in Bambang around February. I think it's February 11 or 12." [00:20]

Bamban, a small city north of Manila, is depicted as a serene locale with lush landscapes. Dylan, previously involved in the offshore gaming industry in the Philippines, was invited by an acquaintance under seemingly innocuous pretenses to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

However, upon arrival, Dylan notices something unsettling about the compound:

"When I arrived there, I just moved to my friend's domes and I waiting. And after that, we were surrounded." [01:43]

The Harsh Reality of Scam Farms

Shortly after Dylan's arrival, his friend disappears, and Dylan is left alone. The environment quickly becomes oppressive with barred windows and reinforced doors. His fears materialize when two strangers confront him:

“You aren't going anywhere,” they said. And that's when Dylan's nightmare began. [01:56]

Life Inside the Scam Compound

Dylan describes the grim conditions within the compound, where captives are coerced into extensive scam operations:

“Every day, Dylan did his work, and until at last one day, he was running a scam, just making his bosses money...” [12:34]

He was forced to engage in "pig butchering" scams—elaborate schemes designed to build trust with victims over weeks before stealing their money. The work environment resembled a massive call center with stringent quotas:

"...he had to work the phones and tap out texts 16 hours a day. If you missed the target, there would be consequences. They'd be hit or maybe even killed." [05:36] [06:40]

Psychological Torture and Coercion

The compound was fortified and self-contained, featuring amenities like a barber shop and spa for managers, creating a facade of normalcy. However, Dylan faced constant threats:

"I don't have any choice because I hear them like, maybe you get hit, maybe it will kill you." [06:40]

A particularly chilling section of the episode showcases the "torture room," emphasizing the brutal measures used to enforce compliance:

"So if you're unable to meet your quota at any given time, or if you had a very serious infraction, they'd tie you here and torture you." [10:19]

Dylan’s Desperate Plan for Escape

Determined to survive, Dylan meticulously observed the compound's operations and identified an incentive: a personal phone awarded to high-performing scammers. He leveraged this opportunity to attempt contacting authorities:

“Actually, I just stay in the compound around one month when I get the company phone.” [08:40]

Dylan strategically called for help while maintaining his cover, subtly conveying his plea:

“I contact Philippines police, and then I tried to contact our Malaysia Embassy, and then I tried to contact my family.” [12:22]

The Role of Winston John Romero Cacio

Enter Winston John Romero Cacio, a pivotal figure working for the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission in the Philippines. Winston's background in criminal psychology and sociology positioned him to tackle transnational criminal organizations effectively.

After receiving Dylan's distress call, Winston was galvanized into action. Winston's expertise and leadership were crucial in orchestrating a massive raid on the Bamban compound:

“The President gave us a marching order to go after online scams... This is a presidential directive. This is the President telling us to go all out against the scammers, wherever they may be.” [16:25]

Coordinating the Raid on Bamban

The episode details the complex coordination required for the operation, highlighting the scale and intensity of the mission:

“We had almost 8,000 operatives.” [20:29]

Winston meticulously planned the raid, but just before execution, criminals were alerted, prompting a swift and forceful response:

“We've gotten information that a good number of the foreign nationals were starting to leave the compound.” [21:32]

The ensuing confrontation was chaotic, with armed officers forcing entry and detaining suspects:

“Battalions of officers kicked down doors in handcuffed suspects, shouting to people to get down with their hands up.” [22:06]

The Heroic Act and Aftermath

In a dramatic turn, Winston's boss heroically intervened by physically blocking scam bosses attempting to escape, showcasing unwavering courage:

“He actually blocked a vehicle going out of the area, but used his body to block it.” [23:26]

Post-raid, Dylan was rescued and began assisting Winston as a key witness, contributing to dismantling further scam operations:

“Dylan is actually working for Winston at the commission. He'll be a chief witness at the Bamban trial.” [24:22]

Ongoing Battle Against Scam Farms

Despite significant victories like the Bamban raid, the fight against scam farms continues. President Marcos set an ambitious goal to eliminate all scam compounds in the Philippines by year's end. However, with an estimated 400 operations nationwide, the task remains daunting:

“The UN estimates there are 400 scam compounds operating in the Philippines today, and so far you've closed about half a dozen.” [25:14]

Winston remains optimistic, noting that high-profile raids are deterring scammers, though many are relocating to harder-to-reach areas:

“A good number are leaving for Cambodia on northern Thailand and part of Myanmar.” [26:04]

Conclusion

The episode underscores the relentless efforts to combat sophisticated cybercrime networks and the personal stories of those ensnared within them. Dylan's escape and subsequent collaboration with law enforcement highlight the critical intersection of individual courage and systemic intervention in addressing transnational scams.

Notable Quotes:

• "The President gave us a marching order to go after online scams." — Winston John Romero Cacio [16:25]
• "People might be invited to attend job introduction meetings where criminals... are introducing fake jobs." — Charlene Chen [17:39]
• "I'd hate to see the Philippines that would become if we fail in this fight." — Winston John Romero Cacio [26:26]

Key Takeaways:

• Scam Farms: These operations are sophisticated, often self-contained, and use psychological and physical coercion to maintain control over their workforce.
• Government Response: The Philippine government, under President Marcos, is intensifying efforts to eradicate these scam farms, though the scale of the problem presents significant challenges.
• Personal Courage: Individuals like Dylan and leaders like Winston play vital roles in both surviving and dismantling these criminal networks.

This episode of Click Here offers a gripping exploration of the dark underbelly of online scams, the human cost of cybercrime, and the ongoing battle to restore digital security and integrity.

Transcript

[Dina Temple Raston]

From prx.

[Narrator]

When Dylan decided to fly to the Philippines for the Chinese New Year back in February, he thought it'd be a fun way to spend the holiday. Dylan asked us just to use his first name for reasons that will become clear in a minute.

[Dylan]

I arrived in Bambang around February. I think it's February 11 or 12.

[Narrator]

Bam bam. It's a small, often overlooked city in the heart of the Philippines, north of Manila. It's one of those lush island places with oversized palms, green rolling hills, and lots of farmland. Dylan had worked in the Philippines previously. In fact, it was an acquaintance of his from that job who invited him for the week.

[Dylan]

My colleagues, my old colleagues in Philippines.

[Narrator]

They'D worked together in the offshore gaming industry, and he didn't know this guy all that well. In fact, he was a little surprised by the invite. But Dylan thought that ringing in the Lunar New Year in a place like Bon Bon would be fun. They'd go to some restaurants, maybe do some dancing.

[Dylan]

I just meet up with my friends, and then maybe after this, we'll go to the Dino.

[Narrator]

So he bought a plane ticket and began to plan his holiday. When Dylan pulled up to the address his friend had given him, something seemed a little off. His friend wasn't standing in front of a house or apartment building. It looked more like a compound with all these buildings that look like dorms surrounded by security gates and razor wire.

[Dylan]

When I arrived there, I just moved to my friend's domes and I waiting. And after that, we were surrounded. The Chinese New Year.

[Narrator]

The two caught up a little bit and talked about where they would go that night.

[Dylan]

Okay, these our plans.

[Narrator]

And then his friend says he wants Dylan to wait in the room. He'll be right back.

[Dylan]

He just left me in the compound.

[Narrator]

And as Dylan sat there waiting, he began noticing that there were bars on the windows and reinforced doors, which started to fill him with a slow, creeping sense of dreadful. And just as he was about to get up to look for his friend to ask him what was going on, two strangers pushed into the room, and Dylan's heart sank. You aren't going anywhere, they said. And that's when Dylan's nightmare began. I'm Dina Temple Raston, and this is Click Here, a podcast about all things cyber and intelligence. We tell true stories about the people making and breaking our digital world. You've probably seen those warnings about online romance scams and can't lose investment schemes. Well, these days, a lot of those hustles are coming out of Southeast Asia, and some of them are being committed by People who are forced to scam at gunpoint. Today you'll hear Dylan's experience with that and about the effort to shut it all down.

[Dina Temple Raston]

This is a presidential directive. This is the President telling us to go all out against the scammers, wherever they may be.

[Narrator]

Stay with us.

[Tim Harford]

Do nice guys really finish last? I'm Tim Harford, host of the Cautionary Tale. Welcome to the Wales Podcast and I'm exploring that very question. Join me for my new miniseries on the art of fairness. From New York to Tahiti, we'll examine villains undone by their villainy, monstrous self devouring egos and accounts of the extraordinary power of decency. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

[Dina Temple Raston]

From.

[Narrator]

Recorded future news. This is Click Here. I'm Dina Temple. Rest. Dylan's first four days in this compound were spent in training. He was given a script and a kind of template for the scam emails he'd be forced to write. It was a lot of copying and pasting.

[Dylan]

Just copy and paste the notes and then just write down. In the new notebooks they had racks.

[Narrator]

Of cell phones the scammers would use to either text or phone their victims. Dylan was told he'd be scamming Chinese victims since he spoke Chinese. Were these all scams online or were these scams where you would actually speak to people too?

[Dylan]

I actually speak with people like online and then we need to have a wise call and then like maybe he get some data.

[Narrator]

Data? He means victim research. The scam bosses bought huge amounts of personal data from the dark web. And then people like Dylan were ordered to create intricate dossiers on their targets. Had they been recently widowed or posted about a promotion on LinkedIn? What were their likes and dislikes? What could you learn from their social media posts? Did they have retirement accounts or more than a passing interest in crypto? So you were doing investments or love scams or both actually.

[Dylan]

Include two. Again, the options to include that the first we were.

[Narrator]

These kinds of complicated scams have a name. They call it pig butchering. Scammers are supposed to use all that personal data to forge a connection to gain the trust of their victims over the course of several weeks. Fattening up the pig, they say. And then they would go in for the kill and steal as much money from them as they could. Dylan was eventually taken into a room that looked like a huge call center. People were seated cheek by jowl at these giant cafeteria style tables lined with computers. And he was told that he had a Quota to meet a hundred thousand dollars a month. And he soon realized that in order to get to that number, he had to work the phones and tap out texts 16 hours a day. If you missed the target, there would be consequences. They'd be hit or maybe even killed.

[Dylan]

I don't have any choice because I hear them like, maybe you get hit, maybe it will kill you.

[Narrator]

I see, so they threatened you?

[Dylan]

Yeah. And then I just follow any instruction them say, yeah.

[Narrator]

So Dylan did what he was told. He kept dialing. He kept sweet talking the person on the other end of the line. But his mind was on something else entirely. He was trying to figure out how to get out of there. Dylan quietly scoped out the compound, looking for some gap in security. And he discovered that the compound was enormous. It ran the length of a few city blocks. It was like a mini self contained city. Not just with the dorms and cafeterias that were housing and feeding hundreds of captive workers. But there was a barber shop, a medical clinic, even a spa for VIP visitors, and a karaoke bar for the managers, which could make you think, well, it's large enough, Surely there must be a hole to squeeze through somewhere.

[Dylan]

But it's very hard to escape because the company's security is very strong in the compound.

[Narrator]

And that's why, remember, there were armed guards everywhere. So Dylan needed to come up with a plan to get out of there that his bosses wouldn't notice. And he came up with an idea that involved the scamming program itself. It turns out the crime bosses running the compound had set up a kind of incentive program so scammers would do their best work.

[Dylan]

When you hit the quotas, they were divided by around 10%. And then that one is your salary.

[Narrator]

So you kind of worked on what they call commission. Yeah, but it wasn't so much the salary or commissions that caught Dylan's eye. He was focused on one specific perk in particular. High performing scammers were given a phone that they didn't have to share with anyone else. And Dylan thought, if I could earn one of those phones, maybe I'd be able to call for help When I.

[Dylan]

Get the them, provide me the phone, the working phone. I try to find a way how to contact anyone can help.

[Narrator]

So Dylan became a model scammer. And his bosses couldn't help but notice how charming he could be with a lovelorn. Or how skillfully he convinced people to put a little more money in some investment scheme. And then finally, a few weeks in, he got that personal phone.

[Dylan]

Actually, I just Stay in the compound around one month when I get the company phone.

[Narrator]

Now all he had to do was pick his moment. Some brief interlude when a boss was distracted or when his phone use was unmonitored. Then he'd call for help. And he was patient because it was clear to him if he could get beaten for missing a quota, trying to make a break for it could get him something much, much worse. He'd probably end up in the compound's torture room. Beaten, handcuffed, may be killed.

[Dina Temple Raston]

So this was the torture room. As you can see, there's still some dry blood all over the walls.

[Narrator]

This is someone giving journalists a tour. It was the size of a utility closet, mostly empty, except for a plastic chair and two sets of handcuffs hanging ominously from a steel bar that was bolted into the wall. The cameraman panned down and you could see that one of the walls was actually dented. It looked as though someone had been thrown against it with such force, it just gave in.

[Dina Temple Raston]

So if you're unable to meet your quota at any given time, or if you had a very serious infraction, they'd tie you here and torture you.

[Narrator]

So every day, Dylan did his work, and until at last one day, he was running a scam, just making his bosses money, and he noticed his manager wasn't paying attention. So he picked up his phone, looked like he was dutifully reading from the script in front of him, and he called for help. That's after we come back.

[Michael Calory]

Hi, everyone. It's Michael Calory, director of consumer, tech and culture at Wired, here with my colleagues, senior writer Lauren Goode.

[Lauren Goode]

Hello.

[Michael Calory]

And Wired contributor Zoe Schiffer.

[Lauren Goode]

Hey, everyone.

[Michael Calory]

We're here to tell you about our new podcast, Uncanny Valley, a show about the people, power and influence of Silicon Valley.

[Lauren Goode]

Every week, we get together to talk about how technology and culture from the Valley is influencing our everyday lives. We dig into questions like, will we ever get our Privacy back? Is OpenAI for real? And how are Silicon Valley billionaires impacting US elections? The first episode of Uncanny Valley comes out on October 31st. Listen, wherever you get your podcasts.

[Narrator]

From, Recorded Future News. I'm Dina Temple Reston, and this is Click here. Dylan sat with his phone, trying to look as normal as possible as he dials, trying to be nonchalant like it was any other work call, pretending he was reading from a script in front of him, hoping his bosses assumed that he was just doing his job, while in reality, he wasn't calling a victim, he was calling for help. And with each call Furtively begging them to come save him.

[Dylan]

I contact Philippines police, and then I tried to contact our Malaysia Embassy, and then I tried to contact my family.

[Narrator]

So you were basically saying, help me, I'm being held prisoner.

[Dina Temple Raston]

Yeah, yeah, that's right.

[Narrator]

And then all he could do was wait. The waiting, of course, was the hardest part.

[Dylan]

And then after that, maybe first few days, don't have any respondents, no responses.

[Narrator]

To his calls for help. What Dylan didn't know until much later is that his desperate calls had been received. His case landed on the desk of this guy.

[Dina Temple Raston]

Well, I'm Winston John Romero Cacio. I work for the Presidential Anti Organized Crime Commission here in the Philippines.

[Narrator]

Before you joined the crime commission, Winston Cashill was an academic. He was an expert in the criminal mind.

[Dina Temple Raston]

I was doing a lot of research with regards to deviance and criminal sociology and criminal philosophy, and it was kind of easy for me to try to understand the motivation behind it.

[Narrator]

He studied gang culture and criminal psychology and applied that to the transnational criminal organizations that were springing up all over the Philippines. Criminal gangs were doing everything from human trafficking to drug smuggling. So Filipino jails were full of members of large criminal syndicates. All of which gave Winston lots of opportunities to talk to them and understand not just what they did, but why they did it too. And he took what he learned and taught courses all over the Philippines, not just in universities, but in the nation's Catholic seminaries as well.

[Dina Temple Raston]

I taught in two of the major Catholic seminaries here in the Philippines. One that was run by the Franciscan friars and another one that was run by the La Salette Fathers.

[Narrator]

And then in 2013, he got a call from the Crime commission asking if he could put all these years of study into practice.

[Dina Temple Raston]

They needed someone to do a type of research we call as a threat assessment.

[Narrator]

Basically, Winston was supposed to do a deep dive into transnational criminals. Who were the bosses? How did these organizations run? What motivated them? It was all in a bid to help authorities, finally bring them to justice.

[Dina Temple Raston]

So basically, it was a perfect fit. For me, it was like a fish being thrown into water.

[Narrator]

But the timing wasn't optimal. Winston was just getting his bearings at the commission when Rodrigo Duterte was president. And a short time later, he launched a nationwide war on drugs that was, well, a little primal. Rodrigo Duterte calling on the police and ordinary citizens to kill drug dealers and users on site.

[Dina Temple Raston]

Go hit yourself if you have begun.

[Narrator]

Shoot first, ask questions later. The Philippine president said it was vigilante justice and tens of thousands of people died. So during those years, Winston and the commission kind of languished.

[Dina Temple Raston]

During DU30, the office was non operational. Basically, we were just doing office work, so to speak.

[Narrator]

He was pushing paper, filing reports that no one ever read, and Winston hated it.

[Dina Temple Raston]

I was close to quitting because there were so many challenges in the world.

[Narrator]

It wasn't until President Bongbong Marcus came into office.

[Tim Harford]

You the people have spoken.

[Narrator]

And it is resounding that Winston met his moment. President Marcos wanted to clean up transnational crime in the Philippines, and Winston couldn't wait to get started.

[Dina Temple Raston]

The President gave us a marching order to go after online scams. That gave me a boost. When the President said he's going to Bantis, he gave me the much needed boost. This is a presidential directive. This is the President telling us to go all out against the scammers, wherever they may be.

[Narrator]

And it turns out where scammers were was all over Southeast Asia, including a town about an hour outside of Manila called Bnbat. The Philippines has become a haven for online scamming for some of the same reasons that legitimate businesses set up their call centers and customer service operations there. Filipinos tend to be highly educated. They have good language skills and a good work ethic, all of which could, of course, be useful to scamming operations as well. So by 2022, scam compounds were becoming a bit of a booming industry with a whole infrastructure in place. The scam farm bosses would create job postings online or recruit people in person, and the jobs looked totally legit.

[Charlene Chen]

People might be invited to attend job introduction meetings where criminals or fake recruitment agencies or brokers would be introducing fake jobs.

[Narrator]

That's Charlene Chen. She's the head of programs at Humanity Research Consultancy. It's a firm that studies human trafficking. And she says it is easy to be fooled. The criminal groups promise good money, a chance to live in a bustling Asian city. The only problem was when the job seeker shows up for the interview or to tour the office, they're not allowed to leave a version of what happened to Dylan. Why pay benefits and salaries when you can just kidnap people and force them to work?

[Charlene Chen]

Quite a lot of them realize that it's more cost effective to just kidnap a group of people, force them to stay in the office, conduct online scam for them.

[Narrator]

The United nations now estimates that hundreds of thousands of people like Dylan may be held captive in scam compounds all around the world.

[Charlene Chen]

I have to be honest, the fact that these scam operations are still increasing, expanding in a crazy speed.

[Narrator]

It's.

[Charlene Chen]

It's Quite terrifying.

[Narrator]

And now Winston and the commission were told to put a stop to it. All he needed was a tip. And he got that in part from Dylan and his secret phone calls.

[Dina Temple Raston]

The Malaysian Embassy informed us by Malaysian nationals. They were being held against their will and forced to work as Camerons.

[Narrator]

That Malaysian was Dylan. And as fate would have it, his call was the second time in the space of a week that Winston had heard that there was a scam farm hidden in the hills of Bon Bon. Just a few days before Dylan's call, a man from Vietnam had managed to do the impossible. He'd escaped from the Bon Bon compound. He evaded his captors and even ran to local police. They, in turn, put him in touch with Winston.

[Dina Temple Raston]

We brought him here to Metro Manila. We interviewed him. Then we got the search warrant.

[Narrator]

The Vietnamese escapee told Winston everything about the long hours, the armed guards, the torture room. And it turns out he had a really great memory. He sketched out a drawing of the Bonbon compound and told Winston where the guards typically stood and where the bosses hung out. And as he spoke, what became clear to Winston was that if they were going to raid this operation, they needed a lot more than a couple of police vans and a few dozen cops.

[Dina Temple Raston]

There were 36 buildings, so if you have less than 50 people scouring through or going through the entire compound, we didn't have enough people.

[Narrator]

So Winston began calling around for reinforcements, and he got them in full force. The military agreed to help, too.

[Dina Temple Raston]

That was the first major operation we had against an actual hub, a huge compound. Although we've had three different operations in the past, these were insignificant in terms of size compared to that in Bamba. We had almost 8,000 operatives.

[Narrator]

The staging area the night of the raid was at a military camp not far from the Bonbon scam compound. It had become a kind of military operation. And they talked about how they would fan out and cover the exits and where they were likely to encounter resistance. Winston said when the meeting finally broke up at about 10:30 that night, the plan was to head out at dawn.

[Dina Temple Raston]

So we went to our box, to our hotels, our upper hotels, to take a rest for the night.

[Narrator]

And then just before Winston was about to turn out the light, he got an alarming text.

[Dina Temple Raston]

We've gotten information that a good number of the foreign nationals were starting to leave the compound.

[Narrator]

The criminals have been tipped off. So Winston alerted the squad leaders, who woke their men, and they all set out right away. Did you go in with guns drawn?

[Dina Temple Raston]

Yeah, we had to come in with bodyguards. And guns thrown, Primarily because we believe that there may be people who may be armed in the area.

[Narrator]

The actual video of the raid in Bon bon is still under seal. What you're hearing now is from a different raid, One that Winston says gives you a real feel for what it was like that night. Battalions of officers kicked down doors in handcuffed suspects, Shouting to people to get down with their hands up.

[Dina Temple Raston]

This is a legitimate operation. Don't resist. Surrender your guns.

[Narrator]

What was the first thing you saw?

[Dina Temple Raston]

People trying to escape the compound.

[Narrator]

A mass of humanity was trying to push past him. The workers, the criminals. It was hard to tell who was who. And in the midst of all of this, out of the corner of his eye, Winston saw some movement. Then he heard a car startup. The car was full of scam bosses making a break for it, and before Winston had time to react, he could see his boss at the commission sprinting across the compound. And then he physically threw himself in the path of the oncoming car.

[Dina Temple Raston]

He went in with just one or two security officers with him, and he actually blocked a vehicle going out of the area, but used his body to block it.

[Narrator]

The crime bosses were so surprised, they actually stopped.

[Dina Temple Raston]

My boss is quite a hero, you know, I mean, he's a former police officer. I'm not. I'm an academic, So I am not as brave as my boss. I wouldn't do that. I wouldn't do that, no matter how passionate I may be with my work, But I won't use my money to block a moving vehicle.

[Narrator]

It took another day for all the soldiers and police officers to clear all three dozen buildings. In the end, they rounded up dozens of suspected scam bosses and some 800 workers who came from all over Asia. This is Winston talking to a local reporter. Right after the raid, we were able.

[Dina Temple Raston]

To rescue one Malaysian. The Malaysian bore signs of torture, physical abuse, so his embassy is evaluating him now.

[Narrator]

That one Malaysian, the one who had been physically abused, that was Dylan. All this happened back in the spring, and now Dylan is actually working for Winston at the commission. He'll be a chief witness at the bonbon trial. And he's been helping Winston gather other witness statements.

[Dina Temple Raston]

So we're trying to give him a very minimal amount of salary, Just enough because we're government, so we could not possibly give back.

[Narrator]

In July, President Marcos lauded the commission's raid on Bon bon, and he set a goal. He wants all the scam farms in the Philippines to be shuttered by the end of the year, which is even harder than it sounds. The UN estimates there are 400 scam compounds operating in the Philippines today, and so far you've closed about half a dozen. Yeah, so you have a lot to do between now and the end of the year.

[Dina Temple Raston]

We're nowhere near Damar, though.

[Narrator]

Winston says there is a bright spot in all of this. These high visibility busts like the one in Bonbon are scaring scammers off. They're just leaving.

[Dina Temple Raston]

A good number are leaving for Cambodia on northern Thailand and part of Myanmar.

[Narrator]

The bad news is that those that stay are creating smaller compounds that are harder to find. So it's become a game of whack a mole. But even against those odds, Winston says the consequences of giving up are even higher.

[Dina Temple Raston]

I'd hate to see the Philippines that would become if we fail in this fight.

[Narrator]

So every day Winston heads back to the office hoping for more tips that will lead him to more Dylan's and eventually an end to this fight. This is Click here. Here are some of the top cyber and intelligence stories of the past week.

[Michael Calory]

Just here in the last moments. Donald Trump announcing that Tulsi Gabbard will take the reins if confirmed by the U.S. senate, of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence President elect Donald.

[Narrator]

Trump chose Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman, to serve as the director of national intelligence on Wednesday. If confirmed, she would be overseeing 18 intelligence agencies. Gabbard is a lieutenant colonel who served in Iraq, and she has been deeply skeptical of US Military intervention abroad. It's unclear whether she would have a tough confirmation fight, though. Democratic senators are expected to ask her about her decision to meet with the president of of Syria and why she has embraced Russian talking points in the past. Gabbard left the Democratic Party after a failed run for the presidential nomination in 2020. The exodus from the social media platform formerly known as Twitter continues now. A list names like journalist Don Lemon, actor Jamie Lee Curtis and even the British Guardian newspaper group announced that they are leaving Aix. The German football club St. Pauli said it was leaving because X owner Elon Musk had turned the platform into, in their words, an amplifier of hate. The club expressed concern that the platform would influence German parliamentary elections and is now encouraging its fans to move to blue sky. Germany's three party coalition collapsed last week following disagreements over how to revive Germany's economy, meaning there's going to be a snap election in February. St. Paulie warns that X will likely promote far right content during the upcoming election campaign. The satirical news site the Onion has.

[Jade Abdul Malik]

Just won an auction to acquire the.

[Narrator]

Media outlet Infowars Right wing Nope, this isn't a joke. The Onion actually purchased the Infowars website and brand, the very same Infowars that was run by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who has been selling parts of his media empire at auction in order to begin satisfying a $1.5 billion judgment for defaming the families of the Sandy Hook shooting. Jones had stoked conspiracy theories that alleged that the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School was staged in order to take guns away from Americans. Other assets the Onion will acquire include infowars customer lists, inventory and production equipment. The Onion aims to replace Infowars barrage of disinformation with much needed humor and satire.

[Charlene Chen]

Today's episode was produced by Megan Dietrich, Sean Powers, Erica Gaeda and me, Jade Abdul Malik. It was edited by Karen Duffin, Fact Checked by Darren Ancrum and contains original music by Ben Levingston with some other music from Blue Dot sessions. Our staff writer is Lucas Riley and our illustrator is Megan Gough. Martin Peralta is our sound designer and engineer. Click Here is a production of Recorded Future News. Tune in on Friday for Mic Drop, which features our favorite interview of the week. We'll have a new episode of Click Here on Tuesday. We'll see you then.

[Jade Abdul Malik]

If you're looking for a daily guide to cybersecurity news and policy, sign up for the Cyber Daily from Recorded Future News. It serves up the day's most interesting and important cyber stories from our sister publication the Record, and then aggregates all of the big cyber stories you might have missed from news outlets around the world. Just go to TheRecord Media and click on Cyber Daily to get all you need to know about the world of cybersecurity right in your inbox.