The Fight of My Life

Micah is finally free, but Ava is still trapped. When dramatically she does get released, instead of finding a joyful reunion, she's handcuffed and charged as a criminal. Both Micah and Ava realize that though they've escaped Sihanoukville, there's a long journey ahead to rebuilding their lives.PLUS: What's the connection between recent U.S. funding cuts, Chinese crime syndicates, and your bank account? And with hundreds of thousands of people still trapped in scam compounds, what can you, the listener, do to help?Show website: fightofmylifepodcast.com

We discover that the person Micah reached out to for help was none other than our producer Jake. The wheels for rescue are put into motion but the scam boss discovers that Micah has been asking for help, and calls him in to face the consequences.PLUS: Americans lost $12.5 billion in 2024 alone to online scams. How is the government responding? The answer might surprise you.Show website: fightofmylifepodcast.com---Here's that video of the police raid (the bit at DV is ~3:15 onwards): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqzdlLihfjUHere are the news reports referenced:https://nikkei.shorthandstories.com/https://vodenglish.news/thai-police-visit-concludes-with-66-rescued-other-victims-movedhttps://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/28/world/asia/cambodia-cyber-scam.htmlhttps://www.bangkokpost.com/world/2637946/cyber-scam-industry-booms-in-plain-sight-in-cambodia

Micah is sold to another scam center, bigger and more brutal than the last. Tasers. Dark rooms. So-called “suicides,” and co-workers who simply disappear. He's close to giving up, when he stumbles upon a person on the internet, who might be his last hope of escape.PLUS: We ask transnational crime expert - and show producer - Jacob “Jake” Sims (an American) why governments in Southeast Asia aren't doing much to stop forced scamming.Show website: fightofmylifepodcast.com

Conditions in the compound worsen as the scammers are forced to extract more money from victims. An emotional encounter with a victim leaves Ava shaken and depressed. Micah's escape plan backfires terribly: he's been caught.PLUS: we speak to an American who lost his life savings, and break down just how “pig butchering” scams work – and why they're so effective.Show website: fightofmylifepodcast.com

**Content warning: This episode contains descriptions of violence. Listener discretion is advised.**Trapped with Ava in a heavily guarded compound, Micah learns that escaping won't be as easy as he thought. He forms a daring plan, but when he sees other workers brutally punished and beaten, knows he's taking a major risk. Even still, he acts.PLUS: we fly to Sihanoukville, Cambodia, to follow Micah's footsteps and see for ourselves that scam factories are operating out in the open, and unchecked.Show website: fightofmylifepodcast.com

Season 2 of the multi-award-winning podcast The Fight of My Life returns with Escaping Scam City—a six-part true crime series about love, deception, and survival inside Southeast Asia's hidden scam compounds.Young couple Micah and Ava apply for what they think is a dream job in Cambodia. Ava arrives first and realises it's in fact a scamming factory, targeting people overseas like you and me. She warns Micah not to come, but he decides to follow her in – and hopefully get them both out.PLUS: we speak to leading experts on the highly sophisticated recruitment strategies employed to trick hundreds of thousands of people like Micah and Ava into this exploding criminal industry.Show website: fightofmylifepodcast.com

Season 2 of the multi-award-winning podcast The Fight of My Life returns with Escaping Scam City—a six-part true crime series about love, deception, and survival inside Southeast Asia's hidden scam compounds.Season 2 of The Fight of My Life - Escaping Scam City delves into the alarming rise of forced scamming, exploring what has been termed the "pig butchering epidemic and its global impact.Produced as a six-episode immersive podcast, Escaping Scam City centers around the true story of a young Malaysian man named Micah*. In an attempt to save his girlfriend, Ava*, from imprisonment in a Cambodian scamming compound, he finds himself trapped in a dark criminal underworld he knows he must escape. Even if it means risking his life to do so.We journey with Micah from the moment he applies for what he believes is a customer service job, through the deceptive journey to Cambodia, the torturous months he spent imprisoned and abused in an online scamming compound, and finally to his daring escape and ongoing attempts to seek justice for himself and Ava.Alongside Micah's journey we engage experts to uncover the root causes and second-order consequences of forced scamming, as well as the victims who have themselves been scammed, and the organisations and individuals advocating for survivors and systemic reform.Show website: fightofmylifepodcast.com

Episode 6 - The Triumph: Bitterness and anger well up in Ruby as she tries to move on with her life. Can she overcome this and truly heal? We open with Ruby's dream. She is walking in a lush green field where she feels safe and free. The dream echoes Psalm 23 and comes after Ruby and her social worker at the DSWD pray about Ruby moving to a new safe house in the country. It is here, at the new house,  that Ruby gradually recovers from her trauma and reclaims her life.Change isn't instant or easy, but it  is powerful.  She also makes a very important decision that will change not only her own life but those of her perpetrators, Nadine and Pedro, dramatically. This episode sees Ruby making progress in healing in ways you might not expect. Her last actions in this episode will stay with you forever. Issues this episode explores:The complex nature of trauma The concept of restorative justicePaths to rehabilitation and healing Show website: fightofmy.lifeCadence website: cadencemedia.auNikki Florence Thompson website: nikkifthompson.com--------CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains descriptions of sexual violence. Listener discretion is advised.Please seek help if you need to.To speak to a trained crisis supporter at Lifeline (24-hours): 131 114To report a crime to the Australian Federal Police: 1800 333 000For emergency assistance: 000FOR THE PHILIPPINES:If you have suspicions about the occurrence of online sexual exploitation of children in your community, immediately report to: www.1343actionline.ph--------Finding Ruby is a production of Cadence Productions.Show written and edited by Nikki Florence Thompson and Rich Thompson. Additional production by Lydia Bowden, Anthea Godsmark, and Brendan Ridley. Sound design and mix by Rich Thompson and Brendan Ridley. Graphic design and social media by Sayaka Miyashita, Carla Moran, and Alyssa Sheridan. Director of photography is Brad Conomy. Matt Tooker is the executive producer.Show Music- "Homeland" by Searching for Light, featuring Jenna Carlie. 

Episode 5 - The Trial: The fight for justice now begins. Ruby's perpetrators belong behind bars, but their lawyer will do anything to stop that from happening. Ruby and the girls from the house are brought to the DSWD for safekeeping while the criminal trial against the perpetrators  is prepared. Ruby's fierce young lawyer, Attorney Kath of IJM, AKA ‘The Dainty Dragon' is introduced for the first time, and we learn how her own life story of hardship and injustice impacts her quest for justice. The trial does not go smoothly. Ruby and Kath are up against a fierce battle as the opposing defense does everything in his power to combat them and protect the perpetrators. Despite terrible hardship and ongoing trauma, we see Ruby emerge in this episode with a strong voice as a leader and advocate for others. The episode ends with a crucial key question: will Ruby agree to a plea bargain against her perpetrators?And the bigger question behind it all: Just what exactly is justice? Issues this episode explores:How an OSEC case is prepared and prosecuted The nature of justice The psychological effects of waiting and trauma on survivor victims Show website: fightofmy.life--------CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains descriptions of sexual violence. Listener discretion is advised. Please seek help if you need to.To speak to a trained crisis supporter at Lifeline (24-hours): 131 114To report a crime to the Australian Federal Police: 1800 333 000For emergency assistance: 000FOR THE PHILIPPINES:If you have suspicions about the occurrence of online sexual exploitation of children in your community, immediately report to: www.1343actionline.ph--------Finding Ruby is a production of Cadence Productions.Show written and edited by Nikki Florence Thompson and Rich Thompson. Additional production by Lydia Bowden, Anthea Godsmark, and Brendan Ridley. Sound design and mix by Rich Thompson and Brendan Ridley. Graphic design and social media by Sayaka Miyashita, Carla Moran, and Alyssa Sheridan. Director of photography is Brad Conomy. Matt Tooker is the executive producer.Show Music- "Homeland" by Searching for Light, featuring Jenna Carlie. 

"Light breaks into the darkness. A painstaking investigation leads to the rescue of Ruby and the other girls." Listeners are given behind the scenes access to how a rescue operation is built–and spoiler–it isn't all busting down doors! We travel alongside Attorney Rey of International Justice Mission as he works alongside Philippines police to gain access to the house Ruby and the girls are trapped in, and see what it is like firsthand to work in such a dark area, bringing light one step at a time. The path to rescue is built on a series of small, strategic steps.  At any moment, anything could go wrong. At last rescue arrives for Ruby.  But this is in many ways only the beginning of her journey to healing. Issues this episode explores:The multidisciplinary team needed for a rescue operation A consideration of privacy and protection laws The toll  taken on rescue workers and what motivates them to keep goingShow website: fightofmy.life--------CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains descriptions of sexual violence. Listener discretion is advised. Please seek help if you need to.To speak to a trained crisis supporter at Lifeline (24-hours): 131 114To report a crime to the Australian Federal Police: 1800 333 000For emergency assistance: 000FOR THE PHILIPPINES:If you have suspicions about the occurrence of online sexual exploitation of children in your community, immediately report to: www.1343actionline.ph--------Finding Ruby is a production of Cadence Productions.Show written and edited by Nikki Florence Thompson and Rich Thompson. Additional production by Lydia Bowden, Anthea Godsmark, and Brendan Ridley. Sound design and mix by Rich Thompson and Brendan Ridley. Graphic design and social media by Sayaka Miyashita, Carla Moran, and Alyssa Sheridan. Director of photography is Brad Conomy. Matt Tooker is the executive producer.Show Music- "Homeland" by Searching for Light, featuring Jenna Carlie. 

"Who exactly is on the other side of the webcam? We come face to face with the kind of men exploiting Ruby. "Just who are these perpetrators who commit this heinous crime, and why? This episode opens a little differently: from the point of view of an overseas perpetrator. If we want to combat this crime, we need to understand something about those who commit it.We rejoin Ruby as she attempts for the first time to escape the online sex trafficking den.Ruby reaches an all time low and turns to her last resource: prayer. Hope is on the horizon. Although Ruby has no way of knowing it, a team of rescuers is busy preparing the last steps to come for her and the other girlsYou won't want to miss what happens next. Issues this episode explores:Who are these overseas consumers of OSEC? Is there one ‘type' of perpetrator? Hint: the answer may shock you.Is there any hope of change or rehabilitation for those who commit the crime?Show website: fightofmy.life--------CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains descriptions of sexual violence. Listener discretion is advised.Please seek help if you need to.To speak to a trained crisis supporter at Lifeline (24-hours): 131 114To report a crime to the Australian Federal Police: 1800 333 000For emergency assistance: 000FOR THE PHILIPPINES:If you have suspicions about the occurrence of online sexual exploitation of children in your community, immediately report to: www.1343actionline.ph--------Finding Ruby is a production of Cadence Productions.Show written and edited by Nikki Florence Thompson and Rich Thompson. Additional production by Lydia Bowden, Anthea Godsmark, and Brendan Ridley. Sound design and mix by Rich Thompson and Brendan Ridley. Graphic design and social media by Sayaka Miyashita, Carla Moran, and Alyssa Sheridan. Director of photography is Brad Conomy. Matt Tooker is the executive producer.Show Music- "Homeland" by Searching for Light, featuring Jenna Carlie. 

Ruby is caught in the online sex trafficking den. The days are gruelling but she is determined to escape. When Ruby arrives at the house in Pampanga, the lady who first reached out to her is nowhere to be seen. The next morning, she comes face to face with her ‘boss,' Nadine. Ruby tells her immediately that she wants to get out.  Nadine explains that Ruby must work to pay back her travel costs. But there's a catch: she makes this virtually impossible for Ruby to achieve.Ruby learns the strict rules of the house. The girls are forbidden to leave for any reason. They must work 8 hours a day, performing online shows for multiple customers in remote corners of the world. Ruby's one hope is escape. But with no one on the outside knowing where she is, Ruby is trapped. Only Ruby's inner strength and determination keep her going. One evening, hearing sirens passing by outside, Ruby makes her first attempt at escape.  Issues this episode explores:The differences between OSEC and ‘traditional' sex traffickingWhy OSEC isn't a crime of poverty  Rich visits a perpetrator of OSEC in jail. Show website: fightofmy.life--------CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains descriptions of sexual violence. Listener discretion is advised. Please seek help if you need to.To speak to a trained crisis supporter at Lifeline (24-hours): 131 114To report a crime to the Australian Federal Police: 1800 333 000For emergency assistance: 000FOR THE PHILIPPINES:If you have suspicions about the occurrence of online sexual exploitation of children in your community, immediately report to: www.1343actionline.ph--------Finding Ruby is a production of Cadence Productions.Show written and edited by Nikki Florence Thompson and Rich Thompson. Additional production by Lydia Bowden, Anthea Godsmark, and Brendan Ridley. Sound design and mix by Rich Thompson and Brendan Ridley. Graphic design and social media by Sayaka Miyashita, Carla Moran, and Alyssa Sheridan. Director of photography is Brad Conomy. Matt Tooker is the executive producer.Show Music- "Homeland" by Searching for Light, featuring Jenna Carlie. 

"Piece by piece, the layers of protection around Ruby are pulled away. It is into this space that the message arrives on Facebook." It all begins with a greeting from an unknown woman over Facebook, offering sixteen year-old Ruby a job in a computer shop. Full of hopes and expectations of a better life, and wanting to escape from the pain of her very recent past, Ruby journeys across the sea to the city of Pampanga and directly into her worst nightmare. Far from her quiet mountain home, Ruby finds herself trapped alongside a group of other girls inside an urban online sex trafficking den, where she will be given no choice but to perform acts she never could have imagined in front of a screen. Ruby realizes, too late, that it was all a trick. Issues this episode explores:What exactly is the Online Sexual Exploitation of Children? Why is our instinct to turn away from this crime?Show website: fightofmy.life--------CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains descriptions of sexual violence. Listener discretion is advised. Please seek help if you need to.To speak to a trained crisis supporter at Lifeline (24-hours): 131 114To report a crime to the Australian Federal Police: 1800 333 000For emergency assistance: 000FOR THE PHILIPPINES:If you have suspicions about the occurrence of online sexual exploitation of children in your community, immediately report to: www.1343actionline.ph--------Finding Ruby is a production of Cadence Productions.Show written and edited by Nikki Florence Thompson and Rich Thompson. Additional production by Lydia Bowden, Anthea Godsmark, and Brendan Ridley. Sound design and mix by Rich Thompson and Brendan Ridley. Graphic design and social media by Sayaka Miyashita, Carla Moran, and Alyssa Sheridan. Director of photography is Brad Conomy. Matt Tooker is the executive producer.Show Music- "Homeland" by Searching for Light, featuring Jenna Carlie. 

"Finding Ruby", the first season of The Fight of My Life premieres on September 5th. Join Ruby on her remarkable true story; a journey from the protection of the mountains to the nightmare of an online sex-trafficking den, from the heat of the courtroom to the cool of the aftercare shelter, from fear to freedom, from captivity to restoration.From being lost to being truly foundFind out more about this episode: findingruby.com(NB: Minor in artwork is an actor, not an actual victim or survivor)