The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has warned job seekers against fake overseas employment offers, saying a rapidly expanding human trafficking network is luring victims into heavily guarded scam centres where they are forced to run online fraud operations
The agency warned that fake job advertisements on social media are being used to recruit educated, English-speaking candidates, who are then trafficked, confined in heavily guarded compounds, stripped of their passports and phones, and forced to run cyber scams through violence, threats and debt bondage.
“We’re seeing victims from more than 80 countries being trafficked into scam centres, which are largely operating across Asia,” Pope said.
She noted that victims are often unable to escape and are subjected to physical and psychological abuse.
Pope urged job seekers to be cautious of offers that appear too good to be true, noting that travelling on a tourist visa instead of a work permit is a major warning sign.
“What often presents as something that looks like an ideal job opportunity is just too good to be true,” she said.
The IOM stressed that those forced to carry out online scams are victims of human trafficking and should not be treated as 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.
Between 2022 and 2025, the IOM assisted more than 3,500 victims from 39 countries across South-East Asia. Many survivors returned home traumatised, burdened by debt, without identity documents and fearing prosecution.
Meanwhile, new data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimated losses from online scams across East and South-East Asia, Australia and New Zealand at between 88.3 billion dollars and 114.1 billion dollars in 2025.
Unless we take the issue quite seriously, we anticipate it will continue to grow,” Pope warned.
The IOM called for greater investment in victim protection, safe return and reintegration, as well as increased public awareness of traffickers’ recruitment tactics.
NAN
