The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has warned that human trafficking via online scam centers has become one of the world’s “fastest-growing” forms of trafficking, with victims from more than 80 countries being deceived into criminal activities.
According to IOM Director General Amy Pope, these scam centers employ up to 300,000 workers across Southeast Asia, including in Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, running online schemes that typically target elderly people in the West. Speaking in Geneva on Tuesday, Pope said criminal networks are increasingly targeting highly educated individuals through social media job advertisements, successfully recruiting people with strong English skills and university degrees by offering fake job invitations.
Victims who arrive at Asian scam compounds often have their passports confiscated, endure physical and psychological abuse, and are prevented from leaving these “highly organized” and “hyper-profitable” operations, Pope said. She cited the latest estimate from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) showing that global losses from online scams reached between 88 and 114 billion dollars last year.
Speaking ahead of World Day Against Trafficking in Persons on Thursday, Pope said the IOM has supported more than 3,500 survivors from 33 countries. Many return home deeply traumatized, burdened with debt, and with very few resources after months or years of captivity.
Pope also warned that survivors are often wrongly treated as criminals rather than victims, and called for stronger cross-border cooperation, prevention efforts and public awareness campaigns to break trafficking networks and protect people from fraudulent job offers.
The IOM called for “continued support to help victims of trafficking through protection, safe return and reintegration, while stepping up awareness-raising efforts about trafficker tactics so people can recognise the risks and know where to seek help.”
“Those trapped in scam compounds are victims of human trafficking, forced to commit crimes through violence, threats and coercion,” said Pope, a former prosecutor in trafficking cases. “We must work together to support survivors, stop traffickers and fill the gaps that these criminal networks exploit.”
