The Japanese Embassy in Phnom Penh says 12 Japanese nationals have been taken into protective custody in southeastern Cambodia.

The embassy says the dozen people were placed in protection by local authorities in the city of Bavet on August 3 and 7.

Sources say the 12 entered Cambodia after being promised highly paid, easy jobs and that they may have been forced to get involved in phone scams.

Local authorities are searching for the individual or individuals who recruited the 12.

In recent years, Cambodia has seen a number of cases in which people overseas are lured to the country by scam groups through social media and forced to join their operation after their passports and smartphones are confiscated.

The embassy has been calling for caution.