Sep 03, 2023 21:00:00

Hundreds of thousands of people are trafficked as online fraudsters in Southeast Asia

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International romance fraud '', which deceives money from people who have deepened relationships using SNS, has already been implemented on an industrial scale , and it is known that people gathered in some way are made to act as fraudsters. Masu. Hundreds of thousands of people are being trafficked in Southeast Asia as fraudsters in criminal activities such as international romance scams, virtual currency scams, and online gambling, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). doing.

Hundreds of thousands trafficked to work as online scammers in SE Asia, says UN report | OHCHR
https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/08/hundreds-thousands-trafficked-work-online-scammers-se-asia-says-un-report

ONLINE SCAM OPERATIONS AND TRAFFICKING INTO FORCED CRIMINALITY IN SOUTHEAST ASIA: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A HUMAN RIGHTS RESPONSE
(PDF file)

https://bangkok.ohchr.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ONLINE-SCAM-OPERATIONS-2582023.pdf

It is said that it is difficult to estimate the scale of online fraud in Southeast Asia due to the gap between the secretive nature and the response of the authorities, but in Myanmar about 120,000 people, Approximately 100,000 people in Cambodia are believed to be forced into online fraud. In addition, tens of thousands of people from Laos, the Philippines, and Thailand are believed to have been involved or used to move people.

The 'fraud centers' where these people are forced to work make billions of dollars (hundreds of billions of yen) in profits every year. Many countries have closed casinos as a public health response to the pandemic, prompting casino operators to move to less regulated locations such as conflict zones or special economic zones near borders, or to more lucrative online locations. It is said that it is being moved.

A map showing the locations of some of the 'fraud centers.' Confirmed locations include Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and the Philippines.

Criminal groups are using the pretext of 'getting jobs' to lure job-scarce immigrants into their crimes as prime targets. Due to the pandemic, more time is spent at home and more time is spent online, which has increased the number of online fraud methods and the number of people who are 'recruited' as fraudsters.

For this reason, many of the victims are not from countries with 'fraud centers', but from all over

ASEAN , as well as from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Asia, and even Africa and Latin America. Most of the victims are men, but there are also women and children.

A map showing where victims were recruited from to Southeast Asia's 'fraud centres.' While there are victims as far away as Brazil, it seems that victims in Japan, South Korea, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, etc. have not been confirmed.

Some countries in Southeast Asia are developing laws on human trafficking, but there are cases where they do not meet international standards, and in many cases, the reality is that they are not able to respond appropriately to the current situation and sophistication of online fraud. It has been reported.

Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said: 'People who are forced to engage in these frauds endure inhumane treatment while being coerced into committing crimes. They are not criminals, they are victims. ``I am a person,'' he says.

However, in reality, people who play the role of 'online fraudsters' are recognized as criminals despite being victims of human trafficking and human rights violations, are not protected or redressed, and are subject to criminal prosecution and immigration punishment. It is said that it is subject to.