The U.N. migration agency on Tuesday warned of a dramatic increase in the number of people forced into working in Asian scam compounds, saying people from more than 80 countries have been lured in through social media, with some being sexually abused.

Huge scam centers employing as many as 300,000 workers across Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos have emerged to deploy online schemes to defraud often older individuals in the West, the International Organization for Migration said.

But a significant portion of those were themselves tricked into employment, the U.N. agency said, describing fake job advertisements offering lucrative work contracts for those with strong English skills and a college education.

Once duped, they are stripped of their documents and forced to carry out online scam operations amid threats and violence, IOM said. Many suffer stigma and debt as well as trauma after sexual abuse or bouts of solitary confinement, Amy Pope, director general of the IOM, said.

Social Media Expands Reach

“People trapped in scam compounds are victims of trafficking, forced to commit crimes through violence, threats and coercion,” said Pope, who formerly worked as a prosecutor of human trafficking cases.

“We must work together to support survivors, stop traffickers and close the gaps these criminal networks exploit,” she said.

The IOM put the number of those trafficked in the tens of thousands.

Pope told reporters in Geneva that IOM has helped victims from some 30 countries recruited under false pretences.

“The significant networks are based within Asia, but because of social media, because of the ability to now reach people in many, many countries, their reach has expanded quite significantly,” she said, estimating that people from over 80 countries have been trafficked.

Even when they manage to escape or are freed through government raids, they are sometimes then threatened with prosecution, Pope said.

She praised governments such as Thailand for increased engagement in identifying such centers but said more was needed to find those operating in remote parts of Asia where law enforcement is poor.

“IOM calls for continued support to assist victims of trafficking through protection, safe return and reintegration, while scaling up efforts to raise awareness of traffickers’ tactics so that people can recognise risks and know where to seek help,” the IOM statement said.

–

(Reporting by Emma Farge;Editing by Alison Williams)