Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has issued an alert about a rapidly growing criminal industry coercing individuals into forced online scam operations. This multibillion-dollar network exploits job seekers by advertising legitimate-looking opportunities on social media, then trafficking them into scam centers, mainly across Asia.
Amy Pope, IOM Director General, stated that victims come from over 80 countries and are targeted for their English skills and education. Upon arrival, individuals are locked inside compounds, deprived of passports and phones, and kept under constant surveillance. Many experience physical and mental abuse and are forced through violence and debt bondage to operate scams against global victims.
The IOM advises caution regarding job offers that seem unusually attractive and urges applicants to verify travel documents, noting many victims enter on tourist visas rather than work permits. IOM stresses that those forced to commit scams should be treated as trafficking victims, not criminals.
Between 2022 and 2025, the IOM assisted over 3,500 forced criminality victims in Southeast Asia, from 39 countries including Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Bangladesh. Recovery is challenging due to trauma, stigma, debt, lost documents, and fear of prosecution.