Pushed From China Border, Myanmar Scammers Take Root in Hsipaw

Online scam operations are expanding across Hsipaw Township and nearby villages in northern Shan State, with scammers relocating frequently to evade detection, according to local sources.

Residents say criminal syndicates dismantled by anti-regime forces during Operation 1027 in 2023-2024 have shifted from Kokang on the China border to rural Hsipaw.

The groups have traded sprawling fortified compounds in the Kokang fraud hub of Laukkai for remote Hsipaw villages, setting up temporary bases in farm plots, orchards, and forested areas. Locals describe small groups of four to six people living in makeshift huts, shifting every few months to avoid raids.