GENEVA - A report published today by the UN Human Rights Office graphically details the lived experiences of some of the hundreds of thousands of people trafficked from dozens of countries around the world into working in entrenched scam operations mostly in Southeast Asia, as well as far beyond.
The report documents instances of torture and other ill-treatment, sexual abuse and exploitation, forced abortions, food deprivation, solitary confinement, among other grave human rights abuses. Survivors also shared experiences of border officials aiding scam recruiters, and of threats and extortion by police.
Satellite imagery and on-ground reports show that nearly three-quarters of the scam operations are in the Mekong region, which have also spread to some Pacific Island countries and South Asia, as well as Gulf States, West Africa and the Americas.
"The treatment endured by individuals within the context of scam operations is alarming," finds the report, based on interviews with survivors originating from Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Thailand, Viet Nam and Zimbabwe. They had been trafficked into scam centres in Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar, the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates between 2021 and 2025. It is also based on interviews with police and border officials, as well as civil society and others with knowledge of such operations.
Victims described being lured into scamming jobs under false pretences and then being coerced into perpetrating online fraud ranging from impersonation scams, online extortion, financial fraud as well as romantic scams.
The operations described are fluid, with some survivors sharing experiences of being held in immense compounds resembling self-contained towns, some over 500 acres in size, made up of heavily fortified multi-storey buildings with barbed wire-topped high walls, guarded by armed and uniformed security personnel.
"A victim from Sri Lanka related how those who failed to meet monthly scamming targets were subject to immersion in water containers (known as 'water prisons') for hours," said the report, which updates a 2023 UN Human Rights report.
"Victims also recounted being forced to witness or even conduct grave abuse of others as a means to ensure compliance; one Bangladeshi victim said that he was ordered to beat other workers and a victim from Ghana recounted being forced to watch his friend being beaten in front of him."
They told of people losing their lives as they attempted to escape, including falling from balconies and roofs in the compounds.
Failed rescue attempts were also punished severely, the report finds. One Vietnamese victim described how her sister was beaten, tasered and locked in a room with no food for seven days after her sister had tried to engineer her escape.
It found traffickers would video call family members to watch their loved one being abused and mistreated in order to pressure families to pay extortionate ransoms.
While most victims described receiving some wages, all those interviewed by UN Human Rights experienced a range of escalating deductions and none received the entirety of the promised salary. A Thai victim reported that they were ordered to meet steep scamming targets of some $9,500 per day to avoid fines, beatings, or even being "sold" to another compound with harsher conditions.
"The litany of abuse is staggering and at the same time heart-breaking," UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk said. "Yet, rather than receiving protection, care and rehabilitation as well as the pathways to justice and redress to which they are entitled, victims too often face disbelief, stigmatization and even further punishment."
"Effective responses need to be centred in human rights law and standards. Crucially, that means explicitly recognizing forced criminality within anti-trafficking laws and regulations and guaranteeing the non-punishment principle for victims of trafficking."
"Victims of such abuses require coordinated timely, safe and effective rescue operations, respect for the principle of non-refoulement, as well as available support mechanisms to ensure torture and trauma rehabilitation and address risks of reprisals or re-trafficking."
The report uniquely applies a behavioural science and systems analysis to explore why people continue to fall prey to fraudulent recruitment into scam operations and to suggest rights-based and effective prevention responses.
"There must be increased availability and accessibility of safe labour migration pathways and meaningful oversight of recruitment such as verification of online job postings and flagging suspicious recruitment patterns," Türk said.
He called on States and relevant stakeholders to engage trusted and community-based actors, such as survivor-led groups, in outreach to individuals considered at risk of trafficking into scam operations. Awareness activities need to be accessible, concrete and available through trusted media.
Türk also urged States and regional bodies to act effectively against corruption, which he said was deeply entrenched in such lucrative scamming operations, and to prosecute the criminal syndicates behind them. He also recalled the importance of independent media, human rights defenders and civil society organisations being able to carry out their vital anti-trafficking work free from interference.
