Interpol warns of surge in human trafficking linked to online fraud

An increasing number of countries are being affected by human trafficking linked to forced labour in professionally run online scam centres, Interpol said on Monday, according to German news agency (dpa).

The international police organisation said that victims come from 66 countries and all continents.

Interpol, headquartered in Lyon, France, described the situation as a "global crisis" involving hundreds of thousands of victims.

The scam centres were originally located in a few Southeast Asian countries. Interpol analysis suggests that three out of four victims have been trafficked into this region over the past five years.

However, investigators have also increasingly come across fraud centres in West Africa, Central America and the Middle East.

Interpol said victims are usually lured in by fake job offers, and then held captive in camps, where they are often blackmailed over alleged debts, subjected to beatings, sexual exploitation and in some cases even torture or rape.

Inside the centres, victims are forced to carry out online scams, primarily aimed at stealing money from others.

Interpol warns that this form of organised crime is spreading rapidly and calls for a globally coordinated response.

Authorities must strengthen information-sharing between affected countries and work more closely with organisations that support victims.

With 196 member states, Interpol is the world's largest police organisation and coordinates international police cooperation.

- Bernama

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