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A UN human rights report has found that people trafficked and forced to work in scam centers are subjected to torture, sexual abuse and prison-like conditions. (representative photo). Credit: UNICEF/Ron Haviv
– A report released today by the UN Human Rights Office graphically details the lived experiences of some of the hundreds of thousands of people trafficked from dozens of countries around the world to work in entrenched scam operations, primarily in Southeast Asia, as well as far beyond.
The report documents cases of torture and other ill-treatment, sexual abuse and exploitation, forced abortions, food deprivation and solitary confinement, among other serious human rights abuses. Survivors also shared experiences of border officials assisting recruitment scammers and threats and extortion by police.
Satellite images and on-the-ground reports show that almost three-quarters of fraudulent operations take place in the Mekong region, which have also spread to some island countries in the Pacific and South Asia, as well as the Gulf States, West Africa and the Americas.
“The treatment of people in the context of fraudulent operations is alarming,” says the report, based on interviews with survivors from Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Thailand, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.
They had been trafficked to scam centers in Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates between 2021 and 2025. It is also based on interviews with police and border officials, as well as civil society and others with knowledge of such operations.
Victims described being lured into fraudulent jobs under false pretenses and then coerced into perpetrating online frauds ranging from phishing scams, online extortion, financial fraud and romance scams.
The operations described are fluid, and some survivors share experiences of being held in immense compounds resembling self-contained cities, some more than 500 acres in size, composed of heavily fortified multi-story buildings with high walls topped with barbed wire, guarded by armed and uniformed security personnel.
“A Sri Lankan victim recounted how those who did not meet monthly scam targets were subjected to immersion in containers of water (known as ‘water prisons’) for hours,” says the report, which updates a 2023 UN Human Rights report.
“Victims also described being forced to witness or even commit serious abuses against others as a means of ensuring compliance; a Bangladeshi victim said he was ordered to beat other workers, and a Ghanaian victim said he was forced to watch his friend being beaten in front of him.”
They spoke of people who lost their lives trying to escape, even falling from balconies and roofs in the complexes.
Failed rescue attempts were also severely punished, according to the report. One Vietnamese victim described how her sister was beaten, Tasered, and locked in a room without food for seven days after her sister tried to plan her escape.
She discovered that traffickers video-called relatives to watch their loved one being abused and mistreated in order to pressure families into paying exorbitant ransoms.
While most victims described receiving some wages, all of those interviewed by UN Human Rights experienced a series of increasing deductions and none received the full promised salary. One Thai victim reported that they were ordered to meet high scam targets of about $9,500 per day to avoid fines, beatings, or even being “sold” to another resort with harsher conditions.
“The litany of abuses is astonishing and at the same time heartbreaking,” said UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk. “However, instead of receiving the protection, care and rehabilitation, as well as the pathways to justice and reparation to which they are entitled, victims too often face disbelief, stigmatization and even greater punishment.”
“Effective responses must focus on human rights laws and standards. Fundamentally, that means explicitly recognizing forced criminality within anti-trafficking laws and regulations and ensuring the principle of non-punishment for victims of trafficking.”
“Victims of such abuses require coordinated, timely, safe and effective rescue operations, respect for the principle of non-refoulement, as well as support mechanisms available to ensure torture and trauma rehabilitation and address the risks of retaliation or re-trafficking.”
The report uniquely applies behavioral science and systems analysis to explore why people continue to be victims of fraudulent recruitment into fraudulent operations and to suggest effective, rights-based prevention responses.
“There must be greater availability and accessibility to safe labor migration pathways and meaningful recruitment oversight, such as checking online job offers and detecting suspicious recruitment patterns,” Türk said.
He called on States and relevant stakeholders to engage trusted and community-based actors, such as survivor-led groups, to reach out to people considered at risk of being trafficked for fraudulent operations. Awareness-raising activities must be accessible, concrete and available through reliable means.
Türk also urged States and regional bodies to act effectively against corruption, which he said was deeply rooted in such lucrative scam operations, and to prosecute the criminal syndicates behind them. He also recalled the importance of independent media, human rights defenders and civil society organizations being able to carry out their vital work against human trafficking without interference.
IPS UN Office
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