VIENNA, July 30 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the European Union (EU) on Thursday called for urgent and coordinated international action to combat the growing trafficking of people forced to engage in cyber-enabled fraud and online scam operations.
Marking the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, the two organizations warned that criminal groups are increasingly recruiting victims through fake job advertisements and false promises of legitimate employment before exploiting them in scam centers. They said traffickers are also using digital technologies and artificial intelligence to expand operations and evade detection, leaving many victims hidden from public view.
"Governments and law enforcement agencies must strengthen efforts to dismantle the criminal networks behind these operations," said Ilias Chatzis, acting chief of the Organized Crime Branch at UNODC. He called for closer international cooperation to ensure victims are identified and protected rather than punished for crimes they were forced to commit.
According to UNODC, identified victims had come from nearly 80 nationalities by late 2025. While Southeast Asia remains a major hub, similar operations have spread to the Middle East, Africa, Eastern and Southeastern Europe, South Asia and the Pacific, as well as Latin America and the Caribbean. The United Nations estimated that more than 300,000 people in Southeast Asia are currently being forced to engage in cybercrime, including online scam operations, often under harsh and abusive conditions.
The organizations said the European Commission will present an EU Action Plan to combat digital fraud and a new EU Strategy on combating trafficking in human beings in the coming months, with both initiatives expected to address the growing threat posed by trafficking for forced criminality.
UNODC and the EU said they are supporting countries across Africa, Asia, the Middle East and South America by training investigators, prosecutors and other criminal justice professionals to dismantle criminal networks, identify victims, and improve access to justice and support services. ■