In the lush borderlands of South-East Asia, behind high walls and under constant surveillance, a modern horror unfolds daily. Thousands of people from dozens of countries are held against their will, forced to work 19-hour days, subjected to beatings and electric shocks, all while perpetrating online fraud on an industrial scale . This is not the plot of a dystopian thriller. It is the reality of the cyber scam economy that has exploded across the region, described by UN experts as one of the fastest-growing criminal economies in the world . At least 300,000 people from around 66 countries have been trafficked into these operations, with annual global profits estimated at $64 billion . As the world prepares to mark the centenary of the 1926 Slavery Convention, survivor testimonies gathered by UN Human Rights reveal that practices amounting to slavery and trafficking continue to exist, hidden behind walled compounds, screens, and digital deception . This explainer examines how these scam networks operate, why they keep growing, and what the human cost reveals about the intersection of technology, trafficking, and impunity.
How Do Scam Compounds Operate and Who Is Trapped Inside?
The scale and sophistication of scam operations are staggering. Compounds in the Mekong sub-region, where 74 percent of identified scam operations are concentrated, can house thousands or even tens of thousands of workers at a time . These are not makeshift camps but well-resourced facilities, often located in urban areas, border regions, and Special Economic Zones where oversight is limited . One survivor from Zimbabwe described the compound where they were held as “immense, housing different scam companies with workers from many countries” .
Inside, victims are forced to perpetrate a wide range of online fraud. Cryptocurrency scams, fake gambling operations, romance and impersonation scams, and online extortion all flow from these compounds, targeting victims around the world . Daily quotas are enforced through threats and beatings. A survivor from Thailand recounted: “The bosses told us that we had to make 300,000 Thai baht (about $9,500) every day by scamming people in order to avoid punishment or being sold to another company” .
The brutality is systematic and public. Morning assemblies often include low-performing teams being subjected to torture as a warning to others . Punishments range from immersion in water containers—known as “water prisons”—for hours, to electric shocks, to being hung by one arm in dark rooms . One survivor from Thailand described being punished for trying to help others: “They put a gun to my head, handcuffed me and made me hang by one arm in a dark room for a whole day” .
The conditions meet the international legal definition of trafficking and, in many cases, slavery or servitude . Under international law, consent is legally irrelevant when deception, abuse of power, or force is involved . The prohibition of slavery is a universally binding rule, yet a century after the Slavery Convention, these practices persist .
How Are Victims Recruited Into These Operations?
Despite increased attention from governments and law enforcement, recruitment into scam compounds continues. UN Human Rights sought to understand why, using behavioral science to investigate the decision-making processes that lead people into these traps . The findings reveal a complex interplay of socio-economic pressure, trust, and deception.
Nearly three-quarters of victims were recruited through someone they trusted—friends, family members, co-workers, or community acquaintances . A survivor from Bangladesh described being recruited by a friend who had been his neighbor for five years: “He told me that if I took the job, I would be able to provide the support that my disabled father needed” . A survivor from India said: “We trusted our friend who suggested this job to us. He showed us official documents from the company and a professional offer letter. We were deceived” .
Socio-economic pressures create fertile ground for recruiters. Forty-seven percent of survivors were unemployed or underemployed at the time of recruitment . A survivor from Sri Lanka explained: “I lost my customer service job during the COVID-19 pandemic and had to take on construction work to earn money even if this was unsuited to my skills. It was my obligation to support my family” . For 68 percent of victims, the promised salary was the most important factor in accepting the job .
Recruiters manufacture urgency, pressuring people to make rapid decisions with limited opportunity to verify offers . A survivor from Bangladesh described the pressure: “The recruiter insisted I should resign from my job. My family mortgaged their farm and pond and took out a bank loan to pay the $3,000 recruitment fee. I had no choice but to move ahead” .
Digital technologies and social media platforms play an increasingly important role in recruitment. A survivor from Thailand saw a Facebook post advertising employment in a restaurant job and trusted it . UN Human Rights notes that artificial intelligence is increasingly used to identify and target individuals experiencing financial stress or job insecurity, making recruitment more efficient and harder to detect .
Why Do These Networks Continue to Thrive?
The persistence of scam networks despite international attention points to deep-seated enabling factors. Corruption is deeply entrenched. UN Special Rapporteurs have stated that “organised criminal groups are reportedly operating within the context of widespread corruption and impunity” . Large-scale scam operations cannot exist without some official complicity, whether through turning a blind eye, providing protection, or direct involvement .
Special Economic Zones, designed to attract investment through relaxed regulations, have become hotspots for scam compounds . The Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone in Lao PDR, visible across the Mekong River from Thailand, houses multiple scam companies with workers from many countries . These zones often operate with limited oversight, creating spaces where criminal enterprises can flourish alongside legitimate businesses.
Restrictions on civic space also hinder accountability. The prosecution of independent journalists who investigate scam operations limits public awareness and allows networks to operate in the shadows . Without independent scrutiny, the scale and nature of the problem remain hidden from the public and policymakers.
The sheer profitability of the enterprise—$64 billion annually—provides immense resources for expansion, corruption, and resistance to law enforcement . Scam networks can outspend and outmaneuver under-resourced regulatory bodies, paying for protection and information that keeps them one step ahead.
What Happens to Survivors After They Escape?
Rescue or escape from scam compounds does not necessarily mark the end of abuse. Survivors described facing detention, criminal or immigration charges, stigma, and economic hardship once they left . The experience of “escaping a tiger only to meet a crocodile” captures the brutal irony of their situation.
A Thai victim forced to operate as a “money mule” described how even after rescue, they faced criminal charges related to the fraudulent activity on their bank accounts . They felt like “a floating house”—unstable and without security. International standards, including the non-punishment principle, prohibit the prosecution of trafficked people for crimes committed as a direct consequence of their trafficking . Yet most victims are unable to access effective and trauma-sensitive screening and identification procedures .
A survivor from Thailand said: “After my release I was imprisoned for one year and seven months on criminal charges because I had been misidentified as a perpetrator. It was like escaping a tiger only to meet a crocodile.” They described being depressed and having suicidal thoughts.
Sixty-eight percent of survivors reported being subject to official penalties after release . The brutality endured inside creates an urgent need for torture and trauma rehabilitation, including medical care and psychosocial recovery . Survivors describe complex mental and physical trauma: depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, nightmares, severe insomnia, and physical health problems ranging from tuberculosis contracted in unsanitary conditions to chronic pain from beatings .
Returning home brings its own challenges. A survivor from Zimbabwe described the trauma of returning unemployed, deep in debt, and unable to support their family . The economic pressures that led them to accept risky job offers in the first place remain, creating conditions for re-trafficking. Seventy percent of survivors expressed a desire to migrate again after returning home .
What Is Being Done and What More Is Needed?
The centenary of the 1926 Slavery Convention serves as a reminder that the obligation to abolish slavery remains unmet . UN Human Rights underscores the urgent need for a human rights-based response that prioritizes stronger protections for survivors alongside robust prevention.
Key recommendations include implementing the non-punishment principle to protect trafficked persons from prosecution for crimes committed as a direct consequence of their trafficking . This requires effective, trauma-sensitive screening and identification procedures that distinguish victims from perpetrators.
Survivors need access to comprehensive rehabilitation, including medical care, psychosocial support, and economic reintegration assistance . The complex trauma inflicted in compounds cannot be healed without sustained, specialized support.
Prevention requires addressing the root causes that make people vulnerable: unemployment, underemployment, and economic desperation . Strengthening legitimate economic opportunities reduces the pool of potential victims.
Regulation of recruitment agencies and online job advertisements must be strengthened to detect and disrupt trafficking schemes . Social media platforms must take greater responsibility for identifying and removing fraudulent job postings.
Corruption must be confronted. Large-scale scam operations cannot exist without official complicity, and dismantling that complicity requires political will, independent investigation, and prosecution .
Regional cooperation is essential. Scam networks operate across borders, and responses must do the same. Information sharing, coordinated law enforcement, and harmonized legal frameworks can disrupt networks that exploit jurisdictional boundaries.
Conclusion
The cyber scam economy of South-East Asia represents a 21st-century horror built on 19th-century foundations. Trafficking, forced labor, debt bondage, and servitude—practices that international law sought to eliminate a century ago—persist behind high walls and digital screens. Hundreds of thousands of victims from dozens of countries have been caught in this web, subjected to brutality that defies imagination.
The scale is staggering: 300,000 victims, $64 billion in profits, 66 countries of origin . The brutality is systematic: 19-hour workdays, electric shocks, water prisons, public torture . The impunity is entrenched: corruption, restricted civic space, limited oversight .
A century after the Slavery Convention, survivor testimonies remind us that the forms of exploitation evolve while the core abuses remain . The challenge now is to match the scale of the problem with a response that honors the victims’ suffering and prevents others from suffering the same fate. This requires not just law enforcement but a comprehensive approach addressing vulnerability, corruption, technology, and impunity. Anything less leaves survivors to face crocodiles after escaping tigers, and leaves the promise of the 1926 Convention unfulfilled.
