IOM warns Myanmar among Asia’s expanding scam-trafficking hubs

Workers trafficked into online scam operations across South-East Asia, including in Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, risk being treated as criminals rather than victims even after they are rescued, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) warned on 28 July, as trafficking into the region’s scam-compound industry continues to draw victims from more than 80 countries. Once recruited, victims are locked inside the compounds, stripped of their passports and phones, and placed under constant watch, according to the IOM. Many are beaten, threatened or held through debt bondage to keep the scam operations running, and survivors have reported torture, sexual abuse and solitary confinement. One of the clearest warning signs, Pope said, is a job offer that seems “too good to be true,” along with recruitment on a tourist visa rather than a proper work permit. Survivors are sometimes identified as offenders instead of victims even after rescue, she added, leaving many to face prosecution, debt, trauma and the loss of identity documents on top of the abuse already suffered. Pope credited governments including Thailand for stepping up efforts to identify scam compounds, though she said more action is needed in remote areas where law enforcement remains weak.New data from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimates scam-related losses across East and South-East Asia, Australia and New Zealand reached between US$88.3 billion and US$114.1 billion in 2025 alone. IOM has assisted more than 3,500 victims of forced criminality in South-East Asia between 2022 and 2025, drawn from 39 countries, most often Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Kenya and Bangladesh. The agency has now launched a new regional strategy for 2026 to 2030 aimed at strengthening victim protection and cross-border cooperation against the networks driving the trade. The post IOM warns Myanmar among Asia’s expanding scam-trafficking hubs appeared first on ENG.MIZZIMA.COM.