The Fight of My Life

Season 2: Escaping Scam City | Episode 2: The Fourth Floor

Podcast by Cadence Productions | Released: May 25, 2025

Episode Overview

In this gripping episode, “The Fourth Floor,” host Rich Thompson and his team retrace the harrowing journey of victims caught in Cambodia’s scam compounds. The story follows Micah and Ava, a couple tricked into working in a scam center, their struggle to survive and escape, and the broader context of forced criminality—where thousands are trafficked into criminal work against their will. The episode is built on first-person accounts, investigative visits to notorious buildings, and insights into the mechanics of these crime syndicates.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Scam Centers Operating in Plain Sight

• Cambodia as a Hub:
  Cambodian cities like Sihanoukville are home to scam compounds run by organized crime, notorious for operating openly above casinos.
• Rich’s Perspective:
  "Could I just get on a plane, walk into that casino and stand beneath the very place they were held…?" – Rich Thompson (00:35)
• The team decides to visit Cambodia to see these operations firsthand.

2. Unwitting Victims: The Flight to Cambodia

• Suspicious Recruitment:
  The team notes that their flight is filled mostly with young Pakistani men, possibly victims of trafficking being lured to bogus jobs.
  • Lydia observes: "It doesn't look like a plane full of Cambodians going home." (01:33)
• Initial Denial, Hidden Reality:
  On questioning, the recruits claim to be “students on holiday,” but later reveal plans to work in call centers—a common scam cover.
  • Carrie Anne: "It's like they've been told to say something." (02:55)
• Disturbing Arrival:
  On landing, the Pakistani men are corralled by officials, physically pushed through immigration, and loaded into a van—clear signs of organized trafficking.
  • Lydia's emotional reaction: "I really feel like weirdly emotional…knowing what they're probably walking into." (05:48)

3. The DV Casino: Visiting the Scene

• Physical Setting:
  The compound is described as a gaudy casino topped with a gold dome, hiding horror above glitz.
  • "A building maybe four or five stories high, topped by a bright gold painted dome.” (07:34)
• Micah’s Recollection:
  On arrival, Micah is treated kindly, fed, and almost convinced the job is real—until he recognizes the scam interface on his computer.
  • Micah: "Once I see one of the screen I saw them using like the telegram and then, oh my God. Yeah, it's real." (10:15)

4. Life and Despair Inside the Compounds

• Initial Hope, Rapid Disillusionment:
  Micah is reunited with Ava, who silently confirms the dire situation.
  • “I know, I know, I know. The eyes like this...So I already knew.” – Micah (11:12)
• Conditions:
  The room is packed, beds are just mats on the floor, windows are barred.
• Belief in Escape:
  Micah initially hopes escape is possible, but he underestimates the dangers.

5. The System of Forced Criminality

• Expert Insight: Jake Sims
  Introduces the concept of “forced criminality”—trafficked individuals coerced into illegal work.
  • Jake: “A forced criminal is anyone who has been trafficked into roles that are overtly criminal. …Never in history has there been a forced criminal industry like this one.” (14:19)
• The Carrot and the Stick:
  • Carrot:
    Bonuses and celebrations for high-value scams to incentivize participation.
    • Ava: "'Congratulations, Little Woo has scammed $1 million. Gong.'" (17:42)
  • Stick:
    Physical violence, torture, and threats for resistance.
    • Jake: “I certainly remember when I first saw this video of a man being tased inside a compound in Sihanoukville.” (18:47)

6. Brutal Punishments for Defiance

• Examples of Violence:
  • Vietnamese man who tries to warn a victim is beaten, left with broken limbs, and locked in the “dark room.” (23:01)
  • Two Thai workers who contacted their embassy are beaten with dumbbells—left paralyzed.
    • Ava: "They can't go to the bathroom or do anything by themselves and they're like a baby." (25:16)
  • "Them saying like, this is how you will be if you try to ask any authorities for help.” – Micah (25:58)

7. Risk and Desperation: Micah’s Gamble

• Hidden Phone:
  Micah hides a backup phone in the ceiling above the bathroom to secretly seek help. (26:44)
• Attempted Escape via NGO:
  • Finds an informal group that helps scam victims. Shares evidence at huge personal risk.
  • "I said that I really been cheated, come to here and I really want to get out." – Micah (34:22)
  • The group requests proof: photos, videos, passport ID. Micah knows the risk:
    • "I know once you send the photo passport you will be in danger… the boss might know about you." (35:05)

8. Momentary Hope, Crushing Betrayal

• Response Arrives:
  NGO says rescue may come in “one or two weeks.” Micah is hopeful but keeps the news from Ava for her safety. (37:17)
• Exposure:
  The boss confronts Micah with screenshots of his appeal for help, including his passport and photos.
  • "He shows Micah screenshots... It's all there... his plea for help." (38:33)
  • Micah: “And then he said, you don’t try to lie about to me. I got all of the information... My heart stopped for a moment.” (39:20-39:22)

9. The Reality of (Non) Intervention

• Why So Little Help?
  Despite NGOs and reports, scam compounds run openly, and victims are largely unaided—especially in the early days of this criminal phenomenon.
  • Jake: “If you were trapped in a compound and wanted to get out, you were more or less on your own.” (32:11)
• Complicity & Complexity:
  Episode hints at local corruption and the sheer logistical challenge of intervention, issues to be explored in later episodes.

Memorable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• Rich Thompson on the reality of forced labor:
  “It was weird. Like, they were met at the right as we landed... and they've immediately bunched them together.” (04:11–04:25)

• Lydia Bowden expressing helplessness:
  "I wish there was some way we could have warned them, but that could have been quite a dangerous move." (06:09)

• Ava on the price of freedom:
  “If you want to leave, you have to pay up. 130,000 Baht.” (16:16)

• Ava on her breaking point:
  “They used a dumbbell to hit these people. …they were paralyzed.” (25:16)

• Micah’s determination:
  “I really need to ask for help. Even I've been beaten. Even a dead.” (26:23)

• Micah risking everything to escape:
  “Like someone need to kill you and then you need to be like hiding and then that feel for me at that moment.” (36:49)

• The moment of betrayal:
  "He shows Micah screenshots… his plea for help. …My heart stopped for a moment." (38:33–39:22)

Notable Segment Timestamps

• Scam Center Flight and Arrival: 01:33–06:09
• Entry to DV Casino and Realization: 08:16–10:27
• First Night and Realization of True Danger: 11:49–12:01
• Forced Criminality Explanation (Jake Sims): 13:13–16:16
• Violence as Punishment: 23:01–26:07
• Micah’s Hidden Phone and Escape Attempt: 26:44–37:27
• Confrontation and Exposure: 38:12–39:22
• Reflections on NGO role: 31:26–32:11

Episode Tone & Language

The episode is raw, emotionally charged, and investigative. The language balances compassion for the victims with clarity about the criminal operation. Candid, sometimes halting translations and real emotional reactions from the survivors punctuate the clinical observations of hosts and experts, giving listeners an unvarnished view of horror and hope.

This episode powerfully illustrates the mechanics and horror of Southeast Asia’s scam compounds—how they lure, trap, and terrorize thousands, and how escape is fraught with risk, betrayal, and uncertain hope. The story of Micah and Ava is both singularly gripping and distressingly universal.