The International Organization for Migration has identified online fraud centres as one of the world's fastest-growing forms of human trafficking, with up to 300,000 workers operating across South-East Asia and defrauding victims from over 80 countries.

Human trafficking facilitated through online scam centres has become a rapidly expanding criminal enterprise, according to a warning from the International Organization for Migration. IOM Director General Amy Pope disclosed that these operations, concentrated in countries including Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos, employ as many as 300,000 workers who target vulnerable individuals globally through deceptive schemes.

The criminal networks have increasingly sophisticated recruitment tactics, particularly targeting jobseekers with strong English proficiency and university education through social media advertisements offering fraudulent employment. Once victims arrive at scam compounds in Asia, their passports are typically confiscated and they endure physical and psychological abuse while being trapped in what Pope described as highly organised and profitable criminal operations.

The scale of financial loss is substantial. UN Office on Drugs and Crime estimates cited by Pope indicate that annual global losses from online scam operations reached between $88 billion and $114 billion in the most recent year measured. The IOM has provided assistance to more than 3,500 trafficking survivors from 33 countries, many of whom return home severely traumatised, saddled with debt, and depleted of resources after extended captivity.

Pope emphasised that a critical barrier to protecting victims is their frequent mistreatment as criminals rather than trafficking survivors. She called for enhanced international cooperation, preventive measures, and public awareness campaigns to dismantle trafficking networks. The remarks preceded World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, with Pope urging coordinated action to support survivors through protection and safe reintegration while addressing the gaps that criminal networks continue to exploit.