A multibillion-dollar business sustained by trafficking and abuse in Southeast Asia

The criminal network moves billions of dollars a year and operates through organized structures that include money laundering and the use of cryptocurrencies.

A new human rights report by the United Nations revealed an online scam industry worth billions of dollars a year that is sustained by victims of human trafficking who are tortured, abused and subjected to forced labor inside heavily guarded compounds in Southeast Asia.

The UN document states that the “scam industry” has grown enormously. Within it, thousands of people are forced to work as scammers in inhumane conditions in compounds run by criminals, who punish those who fail to meet the set “targets.”

These abuses affect thousands of people from at least 66 countries, the UN says. People arrive from many countries with promises of legitimate jobs, only to find themselves trapped in a network of online fraud, forced to carry out these scams.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) stated that the treatment people suffer in the context of this “scam industry” is alarming. 

According to a publication by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), the cyber-scam industry in Southeast Asia grew stronger after the COVID-19 pandemic, sparking public outrage over the economic losses and the disappearance of citizens who end up as victims of human trafficking by these scam networks. Although the authorities of these countries have taken measures, many continue to treat this crisis as a policing problem rather than a multi-causal issue affecting the entire region. 

The business behind the scam

Estimates in the UN report indicate that at least 300,000 people work in cyber-scam operations across Southeast Asia. Most of them are concentrated in the Mekong region, which spans China, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, where 74% of the compounds devoted to these scams are located.  

Other sources indicate that the annual revenues of these “companies” amount to around US$64 billion, and that in the Mekong region alone, the cyber-scam industry could exceed US$43.8 billion a year.

The document published by the United Nations reports that these scam operations are “well-resourced” and very well located, as they can be found in special economic zones and border areas as well as in large cities.

The business is organized into different units that select targets, write scripts and set up financial transfers. The money is laundered through third-party bank accounts, converted into cryptocurrencies and sent through various apps or digital channels so that the flow re-enters the formal banking system. It is an operation that demonstrates a high level of organization. 

Torture and disciplinary punishment

In order to exist, the scam networks hold people deprived of their liberty, who are subjected to abuses of all kinds. According to the UN document, the punishments for failing to fulfill the “work” are cruel and disciplinary.

A survivor from Sri Lanka recounted being submerged in water for hours for failing to meet monthly targets. Others said they were locked in completely dark cells for days. Violence against women has also increased over the past two years. Victims described rape, forced prostitution and forced abortions. 

Experts point out that this industry has grown enormously and is now worth billions of dollars. Cyber-scamming is so dominant that it is possible to speak of a “State,” just as the term “narco-state” is used in some countries, where an illicit industry has penetrated society so deeply that it ceases to be a problem for governments alone and becomes a regional issue that reshapes the economy, corrupts democratic processes and creates a state-level network of illegal activities.

The United Nations stresses that this must be addressed jointly with all the actors affected in one way or another by this illegal scam network. This must include efforts by States to fight corruption and to provide equal access to formal economic opportunities so that people are not forced into illicit activities. At the same time, it notes that if these efforts are combined with more rigorous police action in Cambodia, China and Thailand, scammers will still enjoy a safe haven in Myanmar as long as the country remains ravaged by violence and political instability. 

Guillermo Whpei

President of Fundación para la Democracia