https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/08/hundreds-thousands-trafficked-work-online-scammers-se-asia-says-un-report Skip to main content Home Welcome to the United Nations Resources * Resources + For o Civil society o Educators o Journalists o Members States o National institutions and regional mechanisms + More o Databases o Library o Publications English * l`rby@ * Zhong Wen * English * Francais * russkii * Espanol More + United Nations logo OHCHR Logo OHCHR HR75 Logo Donate search search [ ] Search input field search Main Navigation OHCHR * What are human rights? Arabic - Main Navigation OHCHR + Human rights overview + Human Rights 75 Initiative + Universal Declaration of Human Rights + Human rights day Stand up for Human Rights. Join us and make a difference. Get Involved * Topics Human rights Topics The UN Human Rights Office and the mechanisms we support work on a wide range of human rights topics. Learn more about each topic, see who's involved, and find the latest news, reports, events and more. View all topics Go directly to a topic Search Form [ ] [Save] * Countries Arabic - Main Navigation OHCHR + All countries and territories + Technical cooperation + UN Human Rights and NHRIs Go to a country or territory Search Form [ ] [Save] * Instruments & mechanisms Arabic - Main Navigation OHCHR + About mechanisms & instruments + Human rights law + Legal instruments + Human Rights Council + Universal Periodic Review + Special procedures + HRC mandated investigations + Treaty bodies + Human rights indicators Learn about how you can report a human rights violation. Get started * Latest Arabic - Main Navigation OHCHR + View all + News + Statements and speeches + Stories + Meetings and events + Publications + Calls for input + Documents + Videos Get the latest from our news, events and meetings. Media Centre * About us Arabic - Main Navigation OHCHR + About UN Human Rights + The High Commissioner + What we do + Where we work + Funding and budget + Evaluation + Memorial + Human rights prize UN Human Rights welcomes your queries. Contact us Get Involved * Get Involved Latest Media Center Press releases Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Hundreds of thousands trafficked to work as online scammers in SE Asia, says UN report 29 August 2023 Share UN Human Rights report on online scam operations and trafficking into forced criminality in southeast Asia. A graphic illustration of a map showing the locations of scam centers. Related Press releases Iran must immediately release critically ill human rights defender Arash Sadeghi: UN experts Press releases UN anti-torture body to step up surprise visits to detention centres Press releases Committee against Torture examines report of Bolivia GENEVA (29 August 2023) - Hundreds of thousands of people are being forcibly engaged by organised criminal gangs into online criminality in Southeast Asia - from romance-investment scams and crypto fraud to illegal gambling - a report issued today by the UN Human Rights Office shows. Victims face a range of serious violations and abuses, including threats to their safety and security; and many have been subjected to torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, arbitrary detention, sexual violence, forced labour, and other human rights abuses, the report says. "People who are coerced into working in these scamming operations endure inhumane treatment while being forced to carry out crimes. They are victims. They are not criminals," said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk. "In continuing to call for justice for those who have been defrauded through online criminality, we must not forget that this complex phenomenon has two sets of victims." The enormity of online scam trafficking in Southeast Asia is difficult to estimate, the reports says, because of the clandestine nature and gaps in the official response. Credible sources indicate that at least 120,000 people across Myanmar may be held in situations where they are forced to carry out online scams, with estimates in Cambodia similarly at around 100,000. Other States in the region, including Lao PDR, the Philippines and Thailand, have also been identified as main countries of destination or transit where at least tens of thousands of people have been involved. The scam centres generate revenue amounting to billions of US dollars each year. The COVID-19 pandemic and associated response measures had a drastic impact on illicit activities across the region. Public health measures closed casinos in many countries and in response, casino operators moved operations to less regulated spaces including conflict-affected border areas and Special Economic Zones, as well as to the increasingly lucrative online space, the report says. Faced with new operational realities, criminal actors increasingly targeted migrants in vulnerable situations - who were stranded in these countries and out of work due to border and business closures - for recruitment into criminal operations, under the pretence of offering them real jobs. As COVID-related shutdowns saw millions of people restricted to their homes, spending more time online, there were more ready targets for online fraud schemes and more people susceptible to fraudulent recruitment. Most people trafficked into the online scam operations are men, although women and adolescents are also among the victims, the report says. Most are not citizens of the countries in which the trafficking occurs. Many of the victims are well-educated, sometimes coming from professional jobs or with graduate or even post-graduate degrees, computer-literate and multi-lingual. Victims come from across the ASEAN region (from Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam), as well as mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, South Asia, and even further afield from Africa and Latin America. While some countries in Southeast Asia have put in place legal and policy frameworks relevant to counter trafficking, in some cases they fall short of international standards. In many cases their implementation has failed to respond adequately to the context and sophistication of these online scams, the report says. Victims of trafficking and other human rights abuse are erroneously identified as criminals or as immigration offenders and, rather than being protected and given access to the rehabilitation and remedy they need, they are subjected to criminal prosecution or immigration penalties, it says. "All affected States need to summon the political will to strengthen human rights and improve governance and the rule of law, including through serious and sustained efforts to tackle corruption. This must be as much a part of the response to these scams as a robust criminal justice response," said Turk. "Only such a holistic approach can break the cycle of impunity and ensure protection and justice for the people who have been so horrifically abused." To read the report, click here ENDS For more information and media requests, please contact: In Geneva Ravina Shamdasani - + 41 22 917 9169 / [email protected] or Liz Throssell + 41 22 917 9296 / [email protected] or Jeremy Laurence + +41 22 917 9383 / [email protected] or Marta Hurtado - + 41 22 917 9466 / [email protected] In Nairobi Seif Magango - +254 788 343 897 / [email protected] Tag and share Twitter @UNHumanRights Facebook unitednationshumanrights Instagram @unitednationshumanrights Tags * Arbitrary detention * Sexual violence * Torture and inhuman treatment * Forced or bonded labour VIEW THIS PAGE IN: * Espanol Back to top Our Work The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is the leading United Nations entity in the field of human rights, with a unique mandate to promote and protect all human rights for all people. * (c) OHCHR 1996-2023 * * Latest * Feature Stories * Media Center * Meetings & Events Resources * Databases * Library * Publications Connect * Contact Us * Follow us * Work With Us Global Social Channels * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * YouTube United Nations Logo Donate * Contact * Copyrights * Privacy Policy * Terms of use