More than 250 people have been rescued after being forced to work in scamming factories targeting innocent victims online to steal money and personal information.

A police operation in the Southeast Asian country of Cambodia found hundreds of Indian citizens working in the cyber crime centres after falling prey to people traffickers.

The BBC reports many young tech-savvy Indians are enticed with the promise of good jobs, pay and careers in the computer industry but end up becoming victims of criminal gangs.

The news site reports India’s foreign ministry said its people were promised jobs but were then “forced to undertake illegal cyber work”.

It’s estimated a staggering 5,000 Indian nationals could be stuck in Cambodia forced to work in cyber-crime hubs which target peope around the globe, including the UK.

According to the National Crime Agency (NCA) cyber crime costs the British economy millions of pounds every year, with attacks on private individuals, as well as businesses and public bodies.

A UN report last year said 100,000 people in Cambodia were forced into operating cyber-fraud schemes.

Repoting on the raid on the scamming factory, the Indian Express reports India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, said: “Our embassy in Cambodia has been promptly responding to complaints from Indian nationals who were lured with employment opportunities to that country but were forced to undertake illegal cyber work.

“Collaborating closely with Cambodian authorities, it has rescued and repatriated about 250 Indians, of which 75 have been rescued in the last three months.”

Age UK say on their website cyber criminals can use a variety of ways to hack people online, including using email scams.

The charity advises: “If you receive a suspicious email, don’t reply with your details or open any links or documents. Delete the email straight away and report it as spam through your email provider.

“If the email claims to be from an organisation, phone them directly using the phone number found on their official website and ask them.”

For more information visit the Age UK website, or to report suspected cyber crime visit this Government page.