Sextortion from Scam Compounds
IJM’s Eric Heintz on KK Park and the Global Scamdemic
Sextortion isn’t just happening online — it’s being industrialized inside scam compounds like KK Park in Southeast Asia. Eric Heintz of International Justice Mission joins Stolen to talk with Erin West about IJM’s groundbreaking study linking sextortion of minors to the same criminal networks running pig butchering scams and cryptocurrency fraud.
They expose how satellite imagery and open-source data reveal the terrifying scale of abuse, from forced labor or trafficked workers to children targeted worldwide. This conversation is a wake-up call: Sextortion is not an isolated crime, but part of a global scam machine that demands urgent action.
Guest Bio
Eric Heintz is a global analyst for Global Fusion Center International Justice Mission, a global organization that protects people in poverty from violence.
“With this project, they were seeing a big rise in financial sextortion cases involving minors.”
Episode Chapters
2:01 — Observations and experiences in Thailand, including the eerie sight of compounds.
5:31 — IJM's mission and Eric’s focus on forced labor in Southeast Asia.
8:01 — How scam reports began to surface and the gruesome stories that followed.
12:01 — How crypto transactions were traced to uncover scam operations.
18:01 — The development of KK Park and its significance in the scam operations.
22:01 — Various scam techniques and the harrowing experiences of victims.
28:01 — Sextortion cases and the financial crimes linked to these operations.
35:01 — The data analysis process and significant findings from the study.
42:01 — The need for action and the next steps for IJM and other organizations.
Useful Links
Press Release: “IJM Uncovers Links Between Child Sextortion and Southeast Asia’s Scam Compounds”
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children CyberTipline
CyberTipline is the nation’s centralized reporting system for the online exploitation of children. The public and electronic service providers can make reports of suspected online enticement of children for sexual acts, child sexual molestation, child sexual abuse material, child sex tourism, child sex trafficking, unsolicited obscene materials sent to a child, misleading domain names, and misleading words or digital images on the internet.
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