REUTERS — The United Nations migration agency has warned that large numbers of people are being forced to work in online scam centres in Asia, stating that people from more than 80 countries have been lured through social media, with some subjected to sexual abuse.
Large-scale online scam centres employing as many as 300,000 people across Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos have emerged to carry out online fraud targeting elderly people in the West, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.
The UN agency noted that most of these workers were also deceived into taking the jobs, through fake employment advertisements offering high-paying contracts for those with good English skills and college-level education.
Once trapped, these individuals have their documents confiscated and are forced to conduct online scams amid threats and violence, the IOM said.
IOM Director General Amy Pope said many victims suffer stigma and debt, as well as psychological trauma from sexual abuse or solitary confinement.
"People trapped in scam centres are victims of human trafficking, forced to commit crimes through violence, threats, and coercion," said Pope, who previously worked as a human trafficking prosecutor.
"We must work together to support survivors, stop traffickers, and close the loopholes that these criminal networks exploit," Amy Pope said.
The IOM estimates that tens of thousands of people have been trafficked.
Pope told reporters in Geneva that the IOM has assisted victims from approximately 30 countries who were deceived into joining the operations.
"The key networks are in Asia, but because of social media, because of the ability to reach people in many countries, the scope of that reach has expanded enormously," Amy Pope said, estimating that people from more than 80 countries have fallen victim to trafficking.
Even after managing to escape or being freed in government raids, victims are sometimes still threatened with prosecution, Pope said.
She praised governments such as Thailand for their increasing engagement in identifying online scam centres, but said more action is still needed to track down those operating in remote parts of Asia where law enforcement is weak.
"IOM calls for sustained support to assist trafficking victims through protection, safe return, and reintegration, while also stepping up efforts to raise awareness about traffickers' tactics so that people can recognise the risks and know where to seek help," an IOM statement said.
