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- [00:00]
Narrator
Hey listeners, we've all gotten those suspicious messages and scam calls, right? Well, behind those suspicious messages flooding your inbox lies a nightmare that's all too real. Scam Factory, the gripping new true crime podcast from Wondery, exposes a multi billion dollar crime empire operating in plain sight. Every suspicious text you ignore masks a vast network of compounds where thousands are held captive and forced to scam others under the threat of death. Told through one family's harrowing account of sleepless nights, desperate phone calls, and dangerous rescue attempts, Scam Factory reveals a brutal the only way out is to scam their way out. I'm about to play a clip from Scam Factory, where one character, Jella, learns horrifying news while she's trapped inside the Scam Factory. While you're listening, follow Scam Factory on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [01:12]
Jella
Jella kept her eye on the clock, counting down the minutes until 1am and the end of her shift. She couldn't wait to get to bed. Jella and her teammates began to gather their things to leave, but their team leader told them not so fast. Everyone needed to go out to the yard.
- [01:34]
Co-worker
They just said that it was a meeting with the boss, the team leader and the translator.
- [01:40]
Jella
With the boss, the team leader and the translators, this was never good news. Jella and her nine co workers made their way outside. The yard was kind of like a quad on a college campus, except with the guards around, it gave more prison yard vibes. They lined up five in each row. Jella stood at the front of the line. She looked around. Two story concrete buildings all painted in a stark shade of white, glaring fluorescent lights pouring out of the windows and doors. On the first floor was where they spent long hours, day and night, scamming. On the second was where they slept in cheap metal bunk beds. The roofs were studded with floodlights that only added to the prison feel. She looked down at the concrete beneath her feet. Such a sad contrast to the adventures on Thai beaches she thought she'd be having when she first met Charlie. A hush spread through the group as the boss began to speak. Beside him was a team leader and two translators. The boss started with an announcement. They were changing up the payment structure. It would now be tiered based on how much they were able to scam.
- [02:58]
Co-worker
If you have five to seven people scam, your salary is $700. And if you have a bigger amount like 20,000 AUSD scam, they will give you 1,000 USD salary plus commission.
- [03:16]
Jella
That'd be great if you were good at scamming.
- [03:19]
Co-worker
But if you did not scam, you will only get $300.
- [03:23]
Jella
But if you were like Jella, this was terrible news. Jella was awful at scamming. Like, truly awful. She'd never gotten good at the dirty talk. She'd only gotten three clients to take it to video chat. But none of them were successfully blackmailed. She'd been moved over to another group with a new assignment. Scam people into buying things from a fake Amazon store. That hadn't gone any better. So she'd been sent to yet another group. This time, someone else was doing the scamming. Jella just served as a warm body on camera for video calls.
- [04:01]
Co-worker
Just like to see that you are real. You are not fake.
- [04:05]
Jella
Her co workers would tell her what to say. And using an AI filter to alter her face, Jella would deliver her lines to the target. She didn't like doing this either. And now she was being told that her already meager salary would be tied to her poor performance. Jella's anxiety shot through the roof. But that wasn't all. Her team leaders told them there would be harsher consequences for not meeting quota.
- [04:33]
Co-worker
They will lessen the food. Like that.
- [04:35]
Jella
No quota, no food.
- [04:37]
Co-worker
You will be punished to duck walk inside the field for 20 times.
- [04:41]
Jella
Duck walking? Where grown adults are forced to squat and walk across the field while everyone watched. It was humiliating. She did not want to do this. All Jella could think about was how much she fucking hated this place. How angry she was at Charlie. How desperately she wanted to get out. And then one more update.
- [05:05]
Co-worker
They announced that by next month we will be transferring to a different compound.
- [05:11]
Jella
A different compound. Jella was in a full on panic now as her bosses explained that they were being transferred to another company. This new company operated out of a compound next door.
- [05:23]
Co-worker
It was a new built compound. It has another security guard with bigger fence.
- [05:29]
Jella
Jella was freaking out. She'd heard rumors about this other compound.
- [05:34]
Co-worker
They are hurting. They are paddling the person.
- [05:38]
Jella
Jella had heard they beat their workers with electric batons and paddles to punish those that didn't meet quota. With her track record, Jella knew she was doomed.
- [05:49]
Co-worker
What if I will die here? So I need to leave this compound before we transfer to that compound.
- [05:56]
Jella
She had to get out of this situation. The one Charlie helped put her in before it cost her her life.
- [06:11]
Narrator
Binge all episodes of Scam Factory early and ad free on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery plus in the Wondery app or on Apple podcasts.