Thousands of people desperately searching for jobs leave their homes each year. Many end up trapped in guarded compounds, forced to carry out online scams under threat of violence. A growing global industry is turning job seekers into both victims and perpetrators.
Forced labor linked to online scams is an emerging global phenomenon. People from Asia, Africa, and Latin America who sign contracts to work abroad become unwillingly part of the scheme — mostly crypto investment frauds. The issue is drawing the attention of European institutions. The European Parliament’s Human Rights Committee (DROI) met to discuss how to protect not just victims of online scams but also those who are forced to scam under the threat of extreme violence.
The issue has expanded rapidly from the epicentre in Southeast Asia, particularly in countries such as Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos. According to Matthew Friedman, founder of The Mekong Club—a Hong Kong-based nonprofit organization that combats modern slavery and human trafficking—the COVID-19 pandemic played a key role in accelerating this trend. As traditional gambling venues emptied during lockdowns, many were repurposed into scam centres.
What began as opportunistic activity has evolved into a vast criminal ecosystem. Friedman estimates that around 300,000 people are involved in operating these scam networks. In the last five years, the number of such facilities has increased from 39 to more than 300 across the region. Some of them have grown to enormous scale. KK Park, one of the largest known compounds located on the border between Myanmar and Thailand, reportedly holds up to 40,000 people.
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How the trap works
The primary recruitment method used in scam industry is deception. Victims of trafficking are lured with false promises of legitimate, well-paying jobs, often in fields such as customer service, IT, or marketing. These offers are designed to appear credible, using professional-looking advertisements, fake testimonials, and seemingly legitimate recruitment processes. Candidates are often enticed with high salaries, free travel and accommodation — opportunities that can appear life-changing.
Once victims arrive, the reality changes abruptly. Many are stripped of their documents, closely monitored, and prevented from leaving. According to Friedman, these compounds function essentially as ‘prisons’ in plain sight. Despite being unhidden and well known, weak law enforcement and corruption allow them to operate with relative impunity.
Inside, detainees are forced to carry out online scams, ranging from cryptocurrency fraud to romance and investment schemes. Those who fail to meet targets are subjected to violence, threats, or psychological abuse. “They get tased, beaten, tortured. I’ve never seen violence like this in my 35 years of experience,” Friedman said. According to him, videos of this torture, sometimes to death, are being sold, creating what he described as ‘harm core’ content. Very few manage to escape because the facilities are highly secured and constantly monitored.
From victim to perpetrator
A defining feature of this system is the transformation of victims into perpetrators. Those forced to work in scam centres are required not only to deceive others but often to recruit new victims themselves. In this way, the cycle sustains itself. Individuals who were initially lured by false promises become active participants in the same schemes that trapped them.
The expansion of these operations has been further accelerated by digital tools. According to Diane Schmitt, the EU Anti-Trafficking Coordinator, the online environment has significantly increased the risk of grooming and exploitation. Artificial intelligence and machine translation have made it easier for perpetrators to target victims across different countries and languages, dramatically expanding the reach of these schemes.
Europe begins to respond
Although the phenomenon is currently concentrated outside Europe, EU institutions are paying increasing attention. Schmitt has stated that there is no concrete evidence of such operations taking place within EU territory, but the authorities continue to monitor developments closely.
At the same time, member states face a deadline of July 15 to transpose the European Directive against slavery and human trafficking. A renewed EU strategy on trafficking is expected in October. Next week, the European Commission will launch its own strategy to combat digital fraud and strengthen internal security.
