Online fraud alarm in Southeast Asia

Geneva [Switzerland], August 1: As several Southeast Asian countries continue to crack down on online scams, the United Nations warns the problem remains alarmingly high.
On the occasion of World Day against Trafficking in Persons on July 30, in Geneva (Switzerland), Director General Amy Pope of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) of the United Nations warned that hundreds of thousands of people are trapped inside online fraud complexes across Southeast Asia.
Easy job high salary trap
Online scams use the trick of promising "easy work with high salaries" to foreigners, often through a third country. However, when the victims arrive, they are taken hostage and transferred to another country to work inside the scam facilities. In early July, the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, announced that it had coordinated with local authorities to successfully rescue a Chinese victim who had been tricked into being trafficked to Myanmar. CCTV reported that a 23-year-old man surnamed Zhong had come to Thailand in response to an invitation to pose for a magazine cover. And earlier this year, a Chinese actor was invited to participate in a film project in Thailand, but he was taken to Myanmar to work in an online scam ring before being rescued.
According to the IOM, many victims reported being locked up in high-security facilities where they were forced to engage in illegal online activities, from romance scams to social media businesses. Many were then arrested by local authorities, according to the IOM chief. In a world where one in three victims is a child, and 78% are trafficked for forced labor or sexual exploitation, the situation is urgent, the article on the IOM's official website warned.
When victims are forced into crime
"Human trafficking is a human rights crisis, but it is more than that. It is a huge global business fueled by corruption, fear and predation on the most vulnerable people," AFP quoted IOM Director General Pope as saying yesterday. She said the IOM has seen human trafficking and the forced exploitation of victims spread at an alarming rate.
"Right now, across Southeast Asia , hundreds of thousands of people are trapped in online trafficking networks that are estimated to generate $40 billion a year, and many are migrants, young workers looking for work, children and people with disabilities," said Pope. IOM said these individuals are isolated, abused and deprived of their autonomy. Even after being rescued or escaping, many in some places continue to face criminal records or social stigma.
The IOM director general said her organization has helped nearly 3,000 victims rebuild their lives since 2022. Many have been repatriated; others have been assisted in Thailand, Myanmar and elsewhere. But Pope warned that many remain trapped. She called on governments and civil society to do more to protect victims of trafficking and focus efforts on hunting down the real perpetrators.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper