The UN Reveals Widespread Trafficking into Online Scam Operations
Every day, thousands of lives are torn apart in the shadows of Southeast Asia. A harrowing UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) report from 29 August 2023 reveals that hundreds of thousands of individuals have been trafficked and forced into online scam operations, often under brutal and inhumane conditions.
Across the region, particularly in Cambodia and Myanmar, victims are coerced into carrying out romance scams, crypto fraud, and illegal gambling from clandestine “scam centres” or compounds. The numbers are staggering: credible estimates suggest at least 120,000 people in Myanmar and around 100,000 in Cambodia are being held and forced into these operations
The Human Toll: Victims, Not Perpetrators
These trafficked individuals, often misled by false promises of legitimate, well-paying jobs, end up stripped of their passports and trapped in environments where they face torture, sexual violence, arbitrary detention, and other violent abuses
“This UN report highlights how technology, corruption, and human trafficking collide to create a modern form of digital slavery. We must remember that behind every scam message is a victim, someone coerced, abused, and silenced. Combating this crisis means not only dismantling the scam networks but also restoring dignity and justice to those who have been trapped in them.” Sharon Knowles, CEO Da Vinci Cybersecurity
How These Operations Function, and Thrive
These “scam compounds” often arise in remote or loosely governed areas, operating with alarming impunity and even benefitting from corrupt networks of officials
Their methods include:
- Romance‑investment (pig‑butchering) scams, whereby victims are enticed through emotional manipulation before being coerced into financial fraud
- Technological amplification, with generative AI and deepfakes increasingly used to make scams more convincing and harder to detect
- Geographical adaptability: when targeted by law enforcement, these operations merely relocate, expanding beyond Southeast Asia into Africa, Latin America, and beyond
A Growing Global Threat
This isn’t just a regional issue, it’s becoming a global crisis. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) warns that as Southeast Asian governments intensify crackdowns, criminal syndicates are swiftly pushing operations into new regions with weak enforcement. In 2023 alone, these scam networks generated nearly $40 billion in profits, intensifying the need for robust international collaboration .
What Needs to Be Done and Urgently
The OHCHR report and UN experts call for a holistic human‑rights response, including:
- Strengthening law enforcement with anti-corruption commitments and transparent governance
- Implementing victim‑centred protections, such as non‑punishment for crimes committed under coercion and non‑refoulement to ensure safe asylum for victims
- International cooperation and accountability, as these operations cross national borders and increasingly evade local crackdowns
Looking Ahead: A Call for Global Action
These scam centres reflect a disturbing intersection of human trafficking, modern slavery, and digital crime. From their concealment in remote compounds to their digital reach across borders, they signal a danger far beyond regional abuse. Consumers, policymakers, and civil society must unite, through public awareness, legal reform, and technological vigilance, to stop what the UN describes as a crisis both “inhumane and intolerable”
References
- Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Hundreds of thousands trafficked to work for online scammers in Southeast Asia, says UN report. (29 August 2023). Available at: https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/08/hundreds-thousands-trafficked-work-online-scammers-se-asia-says-un-report
- Business & Human Rights Resource Centre. Southeast Asia: OHCHR’s report reveals hundreds of thousands of victims held in online scam operations in Southeast Asia, with Cambodia & Myanmar as main hubs. (2023). Available at: https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/southeast-asia-ohchrs-report-reveals-hundreds-of-thousands-of-victims-held-in-online-scam-operations-in-southeast-asia-with-cambodia-myanmar-as-main-hubs/
- JURIST. UN experts express concern over scale of trafficking into scam compounds in Southeast Asia. (6 May 2025). Available at: https://www.jurist.org/news/2025/05/un-experts-express-concern-over-scale-of-trafficking-into-scam-compounds-in-southeast-asia/
- Associated Press (AP News). UN report: Southeast Asia’s billion-dollar cyberscam industry spreading globally. (21 April 2025). Available at: https://apnews.com/article/494b1832f330d6a9690b083411809f93
- Reuters. ‘Cancer’: Billion-dollar cyberscam industry spreading globally, UN says. (21 April 2025). Available at: https://www.reuters.com/world/china/cancer-billion-dollar-cyberscam-industry-spreading-globally-un-2025-04-21/
- WIRED. Pig butchering scams go high-tech with AI and deepfakes. (2024). Available at: https://www.wired.com/story/pig-butchering-scams-go-high-tech/
- Wikipedia. Scam center. (2024, last updated). Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scam_center
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