Thai authorities cut off electricity Wednesday at five points on the border with Myanmar in an attempt to combat cyber scam centers that operate from the other side of the border and have created a regional security problem with thousands of victims in recent years.

Thailand will cut the power to some border areas with Myanmar in an effort to curb "scam centres" where human trafficking victims are forced to work in cyber fraud operations.

Thailand cut electricity supplies on Wednesday to several areas in neighboring Myanmar that are home to sites at the center of a global, billion-dollar online scam industry.