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The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has warned about a rapidly expanding multibillion-dollar criminal network that attracts job seekers abroad and then coerces them into participating in online scams.
In an alert issued on Tuesday, the agency warned that human trafficking networks exploiting fake job offers are expanding rapidly, with hundreds of thousands of people falling victim each year.
According to the IOM, what appears to be a legitimate overseas employment opportunity can instead lead to captivity and forced participation in cybercrime.
“We’re seeing victims from over 80 different countries being trafficked into the scam centres, which are specifically playing out across Asia,” IOM Director General Amy Pope said in Geneva.
Pope explained that traffickers often target educated people with strong English-language skills by advertising seemingly genuine vacancies on social media platforms.
She said victims are lured abroad with promises of well-paying jobs but, upon arrival, have their passports and mobile phones confiscated before being confined in heavily guarded compounds.
“They’re often subjected to physical or mental abuse. They are often unable to leave,” Pope said.
Victims are then coerced through violence, intimidation and debt bondage into carrying out online scams targeting people around the world.
The IOM urged job seekers to be cautious of offers that appear unusually attractive.
“What often presents as something that looks like an ideal job opportunity is just too good to be true,” Pope warned.
One of the clearest warning signs, the agency said, is when employers ask recruits to travel on tourist visas rather than obtain the appropriate work permits before departure.
The migration agency stressed that people forced to carry out online fraud under such conditions should be treated as victims of human trafficking rather than criminals.
“We’re seeing many of the survivors of trafficking actually being identified as criminals, but in reality, they are the victims of this crime,” Pope said.
Although many scam compounds are located across Asia, the IOM noted that recruitment takes place globally, largely through social media and other online platforms.
Between 2022 and 2025, the agency said it assisted more than 3,500 survivors of forced criminality in Southeast Asia from 39 countries, with many originating from Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Kenya and Bangladesh.
The IOM added that rescue is only the first step in recovery, as many survivors return home traumatised, burdened by debt, lacking identity documents and fearful of prosecution.
Separately, new figures from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reveal the scale of the problem.
According to the UNODC, online scam operations generated estimated losses of between $88.3 billion and $114.1 billion across East and Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand in 2025, far exceeding global resources dedicated to combating human trafficking.
“Unless we take the issue quite seriously, we anticipate it will continue to grow,” Pope said.
The IOM called on governments to increase investment in victim protection, safe return and reintegration programmes, while stepping up public awareness campaigns to help job seekers identify and avoid trafficking schemes disguised as employment opportunities.
