UN reports sharp increase in human trafficking cases for online fraud
Kyiv • UNN
The UN International Organization for Migration reports a rise in the recruitment of hundreds of thousands of people to work in online scam centers. Victims are lured by fake job advertisements through social media and then held by force.
The UN International Organization for Migration warns that criminal networks are recruiting and trafficking hundreds of thousands of people — many of them highly educated and proficient in English — to work in online scam centers. The organization notes that the number of such cases is increasing. This was reported by the Associated Press, writes UNN.
Details
According to the International Organization for Migration, victims are most often lured by fake job advertisements, primarily through social media, with promises of employment abroad. After that, they are forcibly detained, their documents are confiscated, and through violence, threats, and so-called debt bondage, they are forced to participate in online fraud.
We are now seeing a significant increase in the number of such cases. We see that victims from more than 80 countries around the world are being trafficked to these scam centers
According to her, criminals recruit people who are often proficient in English, have higher education degrees, and some professional experience. She added that most such cases are currently being recorded in Asia.
The organization cited estimates from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, according to which losses from such schemes in East Asian countries, Australia, and New Zealand last year reached $114 billion. At the same time, so-called "scam compounds" in the region may be holding hundreds of thousands of people who have become victims of human trafficking.
The International Organization for Migration reported that in 2022–2025, it provided assistance to over 3,500 victims of coercion into criminal activity. They came from nearly 40 countries, with the largest number of victims among citizens of Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Bangladesh.