Images are taken by Neo Lu during his captivity inside an online scam compound in Myanmar.

       Neo Lu had been looking forward to starting his lucrative new job as a translator. But from the moment he arrived, he knew something was off.

       He hadn’t been hired. He had been kidnapped and forced to work for an abusive online scam operation. Only by understanding how it worked could he hope to escape.

       7 Months Inside an Online Scam Labor Camp A man was abducted by a Chinese gang and forced to work in a scam operation. He gathered financial information, photos and videos and shared the material with The New York Times.

       By Isabelle Qian and Pablo Robles Dec. 17, 2023

       By Isabelle Qian

       Graphics by Pablo Robles

       Design and production by Rumsey Taylor and Weiyi Cai. Additional production by Josh Williams.