Slavery may sound like a concept consigned to history, yet a survey by Walk Free – an international human rights group – and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that 49.5 million people today are victims of it.1 Under the ILO’s Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), modern slavery is defined as “any work or service exacted from any person under the threat of a penalty and for which the person has not offered himself or herself voluntarily”.
Scam centres exemplify this reality: people are trafficked or deceived with false job offers and then compelled to run online fraud under coercive conditions. While workers in these centres operate scams that defraud victims worldwide, they endure intimidation, debt bondage, and violence –conditions that amount to modern slavery.
Over the past decade, these centres have multiplied across Asia. Weak governance, poor law enforcement, and lack of regulation have fuelled their growth, compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, Myanmar’s 2021 military coup and subsequent political unrest, as well as the influence of gambling-related criminal networks in Cambodia and Laos.2
A Dark, Lucrative Industry and a Humanitarian Crisis
UN Human Rights experts have expressed that the scam-centre phenomenon has reached “the level of a humanitarian and human rights crisis”.3 In a joint statement in May 2025, three UN Special Rapporteurs described how hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked into compounds operating scams across Southeast Asia, where they face forced labour, torture, abuse, and, in some cases, sexual exploitation.4
INTERPOL has likewise reported victims from more than 60 countries, with no continent left untouched, underlining the truly global scale of the crisis.5 The experts stressed that state responses remain inadequate, with victims too often criminalised instead of protected, and urged governments, especially in Southeast and East Asia, to take urgent, coordinated, rights-based action.
The epicentres of these operations are in Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos, with additional cases in the Philippines and Malaysia,6 often located in areas where state control is limited, such as border areas, Special Economic Zones (SEZs), or repurposed hotels and offshore casinos.7 The scale of this industry is colossal.By the end of 2023, the annual value of funds scammed worldwide was estimated at nearly USD 64 billion,8 with financial losses ranging between USD 18-37 billion in East and Southeast Asia alone.9
For those running the scam operations, however, this is a lucrative business. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimates that the industrial-scale scam centres generate close to USD 40 billion in annual profits.10 According to the United States Institute for Peace (USPI), the returns on the cyber scamming industry are so high that they amount to almost 40% of the combined formal Gross DomesticProduct (GDP) of Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar, with a significant share flowing directly to the Myanmarmilitary and to ruling elites in Cambodia and Laos.11 This profitability makes the industry harder to control, as it has become of strategic interest for ruling elites.
Behind the billions in illicit profits are hundreds of thousands of trafficked men and women. USPI estimated that by 2024, 500,000 people were forcibly involved in scam operations across Southeast Asia.12 Conditions for trafficked workers are undignified and dangerous, with overcrowded and unsanitary environments, where workers are forced to sleep on the floor, face food shortages and lack of medical care,13 and endure beatings, torture, and sexual violence.14 Workers are often segregated or targeted because of nationality, gender, or identity, with women and LGBTQI+ individuals facing disproportionate violence and sexual abuse.15 Human rights violations sometimes also continue after the “rescue”. For many victims, especially those from countries with limited resources, returning home is far from straight forward. Repatriation can take months, leaving people stranded in foreign nations, separated from their families and suffering physical and psychological distress.16 Others are re-victimised, whether detained on immigration charges, or prosecuted for crimes committed under coercion,17 and even resold to other scam operations.18
States should ensure that victims are protected, not punished. Some have started moving in this direction. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), for example, has adopted regional guidelinesdeveloped by its transnational crime and human rights bodies
to promote “non-punishment” principles, which affirm that victims should not be detained or prosecuted for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked.19 Other governments should follow this lead. The non-punishment principle, while not explicitly detailed in the UN Trafficking Protocol, is reinforced by international human rights law (e.g., UNTOC Article 25, ILO Convention No. 29) and soft law instrumentssuch as the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Recommended Principles and Guidelines. Upholding it is essential for protecting human rights.
Coordinated Criminal Operations
Protecting victims is only one side of the challenge; the other is understanding and dismantling the networks behind these crimes. Southeast Asia’s cyber scam industry is powered by hundreds of thousands of people and draws on a wide web of actors. Operations usually take place in compounds located in areas where statecontrol is limited or where criminal groups have taken over. These compounds are mostly managed by Chinese-speaking criminal networks with ties to local armed groups who oversee day-to-day operations.20 A prominent example is Shwe Kokko, in Myawaddy Township, Myanmar, which was built on scams.21 Thetown is run by the Karen Border Guard Force (KBGF), a militia group allied with the Myanmar military, in partnership with Yatai International Holding Group (IHG), a Hong Kong-registered company.22 The KBGF controls access through multiple checkpoints and provides security inside, while profits are reportedly shared with the Myanmar military.23
Recruitment operations include brokers, smugglers and traffickers, who are sometimes scammed themselves, with online professional-looking job advertisements, and only realise later that the job entails perpetrating crimes.24 Recruiters span from friends, relatives, or acquaintances25 to professional networks and brokers, some working with licensed firms and corrupt border officials to traffic victims abroad.26 Information Technology (IT) and money-laundering specialists provide the technical backbone of the scam industry – designing fake investment platforms, managing phishing and malware tools, and running complex laundering networks.27 These include currency exchangers and cryptocurrency “mixers” that disguise theorigin of the transactions, and “mule accounts” – bank or crypto accounts used to move stolen money. A Reuters investigation into Thailand-based “pig- butchering” scams showed how such fake crypto platforms and layered laundering schemes are used in practice.28 Corruption further sustains the industry, undermining accountability and blocking access to justice. Credible reports describe corrupt officials securing border crossings, shielding compounds, and even extorting rescued victims in the context of immigration detention.29
Finally, at the grassroots level are the scam workers – most of them unwilling participants. Trafficked or deceived recruits come from all over the world, from conflict-affected Myanmar nationals, migrants, to educated and high-skilled individuals, and even teenagers or pregnant women.30 Forced to run online fraud under brutal conditions, they deploy strategies aimed at building trust and manipulating victims into sending money, from romance and investment scams to impersonating police, running Ponzi schemes, blackmailing, phishing, or spreading malware.31
Global Reach, Diverse Victims
These scams resulting in forced labour are unlike other types of human trafficking. While many trafficking cases target vulnerable or marginalised individuals in desperate need for labour opportunities,32 this more recent scam industry has also deceived people who appear financially stable, including highly educated professionals and skilled IT workers.33
These operations are so elaborate that even celebrities have been misled. In January 2025, Chinese actor Wang Xing was trafficked into Myawaddy, Myanmar, a notorious fraud hub, after being lured from Thailand, under the pretext of a movie casting call.34 This case sparked safety fears among Chinese citizens wanting to travel to Thailand and triggered a sharp decline in tourism shortly before the Lunar New Year peak travel season.
While Chinese citizens were once the primary targets, trafficking operations have expanded worldwide. Judah Tana, director of Global Advances Projects and a longtime aid worker along the Thailand-Myanmar border, witnessed and rescued hundreds of trafficked victims from across the globe – from neighbouring countries to as far away as Uganda.35 Following public efforts by the Chinese government to release nationals from scam centres – as well as foreign nationals, such as a worker from Sierra Leone, lured to Thailand with the promise of a salary ten times higher than at home36 – far fewer Chinese victims are now appearing at the border. This trend has been reinforced by official campaigns warning citizens against travelling to Southeast Asia.37
Due to recent crackdowns, scam centres have been relocating and expanding to regions beyond Southeast Asia. For example, in Africa, Nigeria has become a hotspot for cryptocurrency and romance scams, and Zambia and Angola have also been caught for Asian-led cyber fraud. In Latin America, Brazil has been linked to Southeast Asian criminal groups, and cases of human trafficking led by a Taiwanese criminal group to commit
cyber-enabled fraud were found in Peru.38 Operations have also been found in the Middle East, in South Asia, and in Pacific islands.
Patchy Government Responses
The proliferation and professionalisation of scam centres highlight the intensity of the industry and the need for governments and international institutions to act. Bad press is another motivating factor for governments to take action. The January 2025 case of Wang Xing prompted the Chinese government to urge Thai and Myanmar authorities for action. Concerned about the impact on tourism, Thailand responded quickly. Within a month of Xing’s rescue, Thai, Chinese, and Myanmar authorities launched an unprecedented crackdown that freed more than 7,000 people from illegal call centres,39 yet this remains a fraction of the hundreds of thousands believed to be trapped in such facilities. Other governments have also invested effortsto release some of their citizens – India, for example, mobilised military transport planes to rescue citizens from scam centres in Myanmar, repatriating 280 people.40
While China implemented measures to shut down some of the scam centres, a report by USIP notes that local police forces selectively choose networks to dismantle, while those that serve national strategic goals – such as China’s Belt and Road Initiative – maintain ties with Communist Party members and state-linked entities.41
While there have been successful rescues, most governments face major obstacles in supporting trafficked victims, as repatriation efforts are tied up in excessive embassy bureaucracy. For some African victims, for instance, the nearest diplomatic mission may be located far from their place of detention.42 Additionally, governments with limited resources are often unable or unwilling to pay for the repatriation,43 leaving some behind, held in military camps or repurposed scam compounds, mostly run by the KBGF.44
A Highly Adaptable Industry, Expanding Threat, and Call for Action
Scam centres are difficult to control because they thrive on weak governance – conflict zones, unregulated border regions, and SEZs. In some cases, SEZs designed to attract foreign investment under special regimes have become hubs for trafficking and fraud. The Golden Triangle SEZ, where Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand meet, is one such hotspot, offering criminal groups porous borders and limited oversight.45 In the Philippines, poorly regulated offshore gaming operators (POGOs) have likewise been linked to smuggling, financial crimes, and human trafficking, with many operating without licenses.46 Corruption further fuels impunity, with reports of police, officials and businesses colluding to protect the scam networks.47
The industry’s adaptability makes enforcement even harder. Scam operations frequently relocate when authorities crack down, shifting operations and moving workers across Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar.48 Increasingly, operations are expanding beyond Asia into Africa and Latin America, targeting people from all backgrounds worldwide. New technologies and innovations, such as online markets, AI, and deepfake technologies, further enhance the industry’s flexibility, enabling networks to re-establish operations quickly and evade detection.49
The scam industry has become a global threat: damaging local economies, undermining development goals, and exploiting gaps in governments’ enforcement capacity. The UN has warned that scam networks are innovating faster than states can respond.50 Meeting this challenge will require coordinated regional strategies, shared priorities, and stronger cooperation with UN bodies, such as the UNODC, to disrupt organised crime at scale.