Online scam centres fuelling human trafficking worldwide, warns UN agency
News Source
β’Tue, 28 Jul 2026 17:03:50 +0000
π° What Happened
The IOM has warned that human trafficking through online scam centers is one of the world's fastest-growing forms of trafficking. Victims from more than 80 countries are being duped. These centers employ as many as 300,000 workers across Southeast Asia, including in Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos.
IOM Director General Amy Pope told reporters that criminal networks target educated jobseekers through fake job ads on social media. Victims with strong English skills are recruited with fraudulent offers. Once at the scam compounds, their passports are confiscated, and they face abuse. Global losses reached between $88 billion and $114 billion last year.
π The Backstory
Online scam operations have exploded in Southeast Asia over the past few years. Criminal networks run sophisticated operations that defraud people in Western countries through romance scams, investment fraud, and other schemes. The compounds are often located in lawless border regions where governments have limited control.
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime has been tracking this trend, noting that the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the shift to online crime as more people spend time online. The scale of the problem is enormous, with entire compounds operating like prisons where workers are forced to run scams under threat of violence. The profits are comparable to those of drug trafficking, but with lower risks of prosecution.
π― Why It Matters
Anyone looking for a remote job online could be targeted by these trafficking networks. This is a growing global crime that traps ordinary people in horrific conditions, and the massive financial losses affect victims and their families worldwide.
The IOM has warned that human trafficking through online scam centers is one of the world's fastest-growing forms of trafficking. Victims from more than 80 countries are being duped. These centers employ as many as 300,000 workers across Southeast Asia, including in Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos.
IOM Director General Amy Pope told reporters that criminal networks target educated jobseekers through fake job ads on social media. Victims with strong English skills are recruited with fraudulent offers. Once at the scam compounds, their passports are confiscated, and they face abuse. Global losses reached between $88 billion and $114 billion last year.
Online scam operations have exploded in Southeast Asia over the past few years. Criminal networks run sophisticated operations that defraud people in Western countries through romance scams, investment fraud, and other schemes. The compounds are often located in lawless border regions where governments have limited control.
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime has been tracking this trend, noting that the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the shift to online crime as more people spend time online. The scale of the problem is enormous, with entire compounds operating like prisons where workers are forced to run scams under threat of violence. The profits are comparable to those of drug trafficking, but with lower risks of prosecution.
Anyone looking for a remote job online could be targeted by these trafficking networks. This is a growing global crime that traps ordinary people in horrific conditions, and the massive financial losses affect victims and their families worldwide.