UN Migration Agency Warns of Growing Forced-Labor Scam Networks

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) says criminal networks are increasingly trafficking people—many educated English speakers—into “scam compounds” where they are forced to generate fraudulent online transactions. Victims are typically lured by fake job ads on social media that promise overseas work, then confined, stripped of identity documents and compelled through violence, threats, and debt bondage to participate in the scams.

PBS News Hour

IOM estimates that victims now come from more than 80 countries, with the largest numbers originating in Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Kenya and Bangladesh. The agency reports having assisted over 3,500 victims between 2022 and 2025, who together represent nearly 40 source nations. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimates that losses linked to these operations across East Asia, Australia and New Zealand reached roughly $114 billion in the most recent year, and that “scam compounds” could house hundreds of thousands of trafficked workers.

PBS News Hour

IOM Director-General Amy Pope told reporters in Geneva that the agency is witnessing a sharp rise in cases. She emphasized that the traffickers specifically target individuals with strong English skills and higher education, exploiting their qualifications for sophisticated fraud schemes. The organization is expanding victim assistance programs and urging governments to strengthen cross-border cooperation to dismantle the networks.

PBS News Hour

The forced-labor model not only fuels massive financial losses but also creates a humanitarian crisis for the trafficked individuals, many of whom are detained in remote facilities under constant surveillance. IOM’s assistance includes repatriation, legal aid and psychosocial support, while urging destination countries to enforce stricter labor-migration checks and to prosecute the operators of the scam compounds.

PBS News Hour

• “We're seeing so many more of these cases emerge right now,” — IOM Director-General Amy Pope

PBS News Hour

• “They're recruiting people who often speak English very well, who often have graduate degrees, some level of education,” — General Amy Pope

PBS News Hour