The UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Tuesday said that the number of individuals being coerced into working at massive online scam centers across Asia is increasing dramatically.
According to IOM Director General Amy Pope, an estimated 300,000 people are currently caught up in the illicit call center network, which is largely based in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.
Speaking in Geneva, Switzerland, on Tuesday, Pope said, "We're seeing so many more of these cases emerge right now."
"People trapped in scam compounds are victims of trafficking," said Pope, adding that unsuspecting individuals — many from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia and Kenya — are targeted with fake ads, often on social media, promising lucrative employment opportunities for people with strong English skills and university degrees.
Once an individual is lured in, they are often stripped of their travel documents and forced to carry out online schemes designed to defraud often older Westerners of money. Some of those trafficked are also sexually abused.
