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IOM warns gangs trafficking thousands into online scam hubs

7/29/2026

Summary

Story summary

The International Organization for Migration warned criminal networks are trafficking hundreds of thousands to online scam centers.
Amy Pope said victims—English speakers from 80 countries with graduate degrees—are lured by job ads, then locked up, have documents seized, and forced by violence and debt bondage to run scams.
From 2022-2025 the agency assisted over 3,500 victims from about 40 nations, especially Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Kenya and Bangladesh.

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Story summary

The International Organization for Migration warned criminal networks are trafficking hundreds of thousands to online scam centers.
Amy Pope said victims—English speakers from 80 countries with graduate degrees—are lured by job ads, then locked up, have documents seized, and forced by violence and debt bondage to run scams.
From 2022-2025 the agency assisted over 3,500 victims from about 40 nations, especially Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Kenya and Bangladesh.