The Australian Federal Police has offered people a literal look inside the operations of a cyber scam boiler room, after AFP experts joined their counterparts in the Philippines in a repurposed scam centre that now trains police to crack down on cyber criminals.

These offshore scam centres, or “boiler rooms”, are set up by organised crime networks, which recruit hundreds of people to target and defraud victims.

But from the outside, they look like your eveyrday corporate office.

The AFP International Network has liaison officers based throughout Asia, including the Philippines, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar, who work with law enforcement agencies to disrupt, dismantle and prosecute those involved in scam centres, and deliver training throughout the region.

Two AFP cybercrime experts have now deployed to support AFP Philippines to deliver critical cybercrime training to law enforcement partners.

Participants in the first five-day intensive workshop included members from the Presidential Anti-Organised Crime Commission (PAOCC), National Bureau of Investigation Cyber Crime Division and Special Taskforce, and the Philippines National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group.

It was hosted by the PAOCC and held in a former scam hub, recently repurposed into government offices.

The commercial scam hub kitchen also has been transformed and used by the “Walang Gutom” food stamp program, an initiative launched by the first lady of the Philippines and the Philippine Social Welfare and Development Department, that serves up to 700 meals a day to homeless and underprivileged children.

Since its launch in August 2024, AFP’s Operation Firestorm has supported the disruption of three scam centres in Manila.

Authorities have arrested hundreds of alleged offenders and seized and extracted evidence from thousands of electronic devices such as mobile phones, SIM cards, and computers.

“To stop scams at their roots, we must target and disrupt scam centre boiler rooms fuelling their growth and outreach. Our priority is to protect Australians and their savings, from being defrauded by scammers wherever they may be in the world,” AFP Commander of Cybercrime Operations Graeme Marshall said.

“The AFP will continue to work alongside Philippine law enforcement as well as law enforcement agencies across Southeast Asia in the shared fight against online fraud and scams, further demonstrating the value of international cooperation in addressing this ever-evolving threat.”

PAOCC Undersecretary Gilberto DC Cruz said the training provided by AFP “empowered” Philippines law enforcers.