Recently graduated, Ariyan began searching for job opportunities overseas, driven by a desire to escape the political unrest in Bangladesh and provide for his family. Along with four close friends, he set his sights on Thailand. Through a mutual connection, they were offered jobs at a Chinese real estate company based in Thailand, with a promised monthly salary of $1,200. 

“The broker told us we need to take an interview first…by Zoom meeting. We open our camera…but he doesn’t open his. He told us: ‘What is the meaning of PC?’ We say, personal computer. ‘Do you know how to use a computer?’ Yes, we know PowerPoint, Excel…within one hour, he contacted the broker and said we have passed the interview.” 

Shortly after the interview, Ariyan and his friends flew with SriLankan Airlines to Suvarnabhumi Airport in Thailand. The broker arranged for a driver, who informed them that the company was located in Mae Sot, approximately a six-hour drive from the airport. This directly contradicted what the broker had originally told them, which was that the company was located near Bangkok. Along the way, the driver instructed them to hand over their passports and to tell immigration officers at various checkpoints that they were tourists. 

“[The car] stopped near Moei River…the division between Thailand and Myanmar. When we go there, 10 or 12 people come from inside the forest, they touch our hand and say, ‘Follow me.’ Everyone has a gun. We look and there are two small boats waiting for us in this river. This time, I said to the broker, ‘Why will they transfer us to Myanmar?’”

At that point, the broker disconnected the call and blocked Ariyan and his friends on WhatsApp. They were taken to a jail-like compound, where their phones and identity documents were confiscated. 

“We were feeling very scared. What’s happening? What’s wrong here? Then one Pakistani came and he said, ‘Brother, you are new?’ We say, yes, we are new. Then he told us, ‘Listen, this is a jail. There are many, many people stuck in the compound. Nobody goes outside. And this is a Chinese scamming company. If the Chinese say anything, you just tell them yes, don’t say no. If you say no, they will punish you with electric shocks and torture. Even if you do not hear about their rules and regulations, they don’t care about your life. So as a brother, I just told you, don’t say no.’” 

Ariyan and his friends were forced to sign a contract stating they would work with the company for one year and six months. The contract included a list of rules, along with a condition: over the course of their employment, they would each have to generate $200,000 USD in earnings for the company. When they began to protest and begged to go back to Bangkok, they were tortured with electric shocks. 

“One of the Chinese takes the electric shotgun. He comes and gives it to our backside hard. At this moment we are very scared. What was happening? Why is he giving us electric shocks? It’s like our body is vibrating.”

Ariyan was instructed to make online friendships with people from Turkey, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and the Netherlands. He was told to find them on Instagram and TikTok, send them friend requests, and talk to them like a very close friend until they agreed to move the conversation to WhatsApp. His daily target was to collect 100 WhatsApp numbers, and he was forced to work between 13 and 15 hours.

One day, he was instructed to take another victim to the doctor. The man had been nearly tortured to death and later died. While at the hospital, Ariyan saw a chance to escape. He jumped into the river and let the current carry him. A guard in a border watchtower spotted him and opened fire, shooting at him four times. 

“I say my God, my God if you…If you help me, I promise you, if you help me to go back to my country or a safe place, I will help every victim out of this company. Just help me to go to a safe place. 

Ariyan managed to reach the Thailand side of the border and found help through the local community and the National Referral Mechanism of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). He eventually returned to Bangladesh, where he was reunited with his family. 

“Anytime I am crying…I say thanks to my God actually. He gave me another life. So this life, this is my last and everything is my last. I don’t know where I will go, where is my next destination and what I will do, but everything will be fine. I will try to do good for my family and no need to take the $1,200 salary.” 

Ariyan left home in search of a better life, not knowing the path ahead would lead to fear, hardship, and violence. He was deceived, trafficked, and forced into a life he never chose. Since escaping, he has transformed his trauma into a mission, risking everything to protect others from similar exploitation. He has bravely chosen to speak out. Modern slavery thrives in silence, and breaking that silence can save lives. Stand with Ariyan. Speak out. Every voice raised helps prevent others from becoming victims of human trafficking for forced criminality.

Salam, a highly educated textile engineer from Bangladesh, carried the hopes of his entire family. As the only one capable of earning a decent living, he felt a deep responsibility to provide for them. Earning just $200 a month, he was driven to seek better opportunities abroad to improve their quality of life. 

“One of my school friends who worked for his uncle’s recruiting agency offered me an IT job in Cambodia. He said it’s a computer operator job in a casino. Just to operate a computer. And if you go to work there, you will get $1,000 per month.” 

The offer sounded perfect. Salam had the right skills, spoke English fluently, and the promised salary was five times his current income. After speaking with both his friend and the recruiter, he agreed to pay a $3,000 recruitment fee. They assured him they would handle everything, from his visa to the flight arrangements.

However, Salam became uneasy when he received a tourist visa instead of a work permit. Still hopeful, he boarded the flight after they reassured him that the proper documents would be issued upon arrival in Cambodia. 

“When I enter[ed] inside the office, I figure[d] out—okay, this cannot be a casino, because I have seen casinos, how they look in movies and dramas—but this was completely different.”

Upon arrival at the worksite, Salam’s passport was confiscated, and he found himself working in a job completely different from what he had originally been promised. 

“I contacted my broker, and he said he sold me for $3,500, and if I wanted to go back home, I had to repay that money. Then I realized—okay, I’m trapped, and I’m trafficked, and they sold me into this scamming industry.” 

Salam was forced to create fake social media profiles on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, as well as on dating apps, like Tinder, Tantan, Jaumo, and OkCupid. 

“They asked us to target people from Western countries, especially from America, Canada, and Europe. 

He was instructed to research victims, initiate conversations, and then pass them on to a team leader once they moved to WhatsApp or Telegram. The ultimate goal was to convince the targets to invest in fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes.

“If someone was looking for a friend relationship, then I grew the friendship. If someone was looking for romance, I acted like a romantic partner.” 

His daily quota was to lure 3–5 new targets, while his monthly goal was to convince people to invest between $20,000 and $30,000. The operation even employed models to speak to victims over video call, making the deception more convincing. Salam was forced to work 12 to 14 hours each day. 

“If anyone couldn’t reach their target, they punished them very badly…like forcing them to stay on their elbows or torturing them physically. Sometimes they beat people with a baseball bat. The only way to save ourselves was to obey our bosses, obey their orders, and follow their instructions.” 

After enduring physical abuse, sleep deprivation, and psychological torment, Salam was eventually able to escape with support from the Global Anti-Scam Organization (GA-SO) and Humanity Research Consultancy (HRC). But the challenges didn’t end there. When trying to return home, Cambodian immigration officials demanded an overstay fine of $1,050. 

“I told [the Cambodian immigration office] that I was detained in a scamming compound, and that’s why I wasn’t able to extend my visa. I had no intention to overstay in [their] country. I was detained. I was not free, and they never actually focused on that for a single day. And they didn’t actually recognize me as a trafficking victim.”

With the help of anti-scam and anti-trafficking organizations, who covered his overstay fine and flight home, Salam eventually returned to Bangladesh. Since then, he has dedicated himself to helping others still trapped in scam compounds. Drawing from his own experience, he has supported more than 50 survivors through rescue, repatriation, and reintegration. 

It was completely surprising for me when the story unfolded, and I discovered myself as a trafficking victim.” 

What happened to Salam is not uncommon. Falling for forced criminality recruitment scams is never the fault of the victim. These are sophisticated transnational criminal networks that prey on hope and vulnerability. The most powerful tool against them? Education.  

Photo credit: Luke Duggleby | Instagram: @lukedugglebyphoto | https://www.lukeduggleby.com/

Michael Mugisha*, a recent graduate from Uganda, was ambitious and eager to create a better future for himself and his family. With limited job prospects at home, he began looking for work abroad. Asia seemed like a promising destination, offering jobs that did not require extensive paperwork for entry. When a friend introduced him to a Chinese woman with a job connection, Michael was hopeful. 

They met in person, and she described what sounded like the perfect opportunity: a six-month data management role in Laos with all travel and visa expenses covered. It was too good an offer to pass up. 

“At first everything seemed normal, though when we reached the Golden Triangle things started changing…Everything became suspicious when they started telling me to pay money if I wanted to leave.” 

After two months of preparation, Michael boarded a flight to Laos. Upon arrival, the situation quickly deteriorated. The job he had been promised no longer existed. Instead, he was told to sign a contract that bore no resemblance to the original agreement. Rather than data management, he was told he would be conducting online scams. When he asked to leave, he was informed that he would have to pay an exorbitant fee. 

His refusal led to a forced transfer to another compound across the border. 

“So, on reaching Myanmar, that’s when you realise that this is what real trafficking is. That’s when you realise what trafficking means when you reach Myanmar.” 

Inside the new compound, Michael was held against his will and forced to work more than 16 hours a day under constant surveillance. The scam operation was structured like a corporate hierarchy, with supervisors managing a workforce of exploited individuals. Michael’s role was to build fake online relationships through social media and lure victims into cryptocurrency investment scams. 

Those who failed to meet certain targets faced brutal consequences. 

“The [data miners] do all the work, but not willingly. They do it by force, do it under tension, under pressure. They are tortured to do everything. Everything. They have to do it. They do whatever they are told to do. You cannot say something. You just have to do whatever you are told to do. You don’t have a say on anything.” 

Michael endured torture, electric shocks, food deprivation, and the constant threat of being sold to other scam compounds. He was never paid. He worked every day for nearly a year, without a single day off. 

With relentless determination and the support of counter-trafficking organisations, Michael eventually found a way out. His escape was long and difficult, involving travel through unfamiliar countries, extended periods of isolation, and surviving with minimal resources. It took over a year for him to finally return home to Uganda. 

“Most people, when I tell them about it, they’ll be like, yeah, is this real? Is this real? But yeah, it was real. It happened. It happened. It happened, it really happened. I was there, I faced it.” 

Michael’s story is a powerful reminder of the dangers behind seemingly legitimate overseas job offers. Despite everything he endured, he has chosen to speak out to raise awareness and protect others from falling into the same trap. His voice is one of many. These stories must be heard, believed, and acted upon. 

If you or someone you know is considering a job abroad, take time to research the opportunity carefully and seek advice from trusted sources. For those in a position to support anti-trafficking efforts, whether through education, advocacy, or community engagement, your involvement can make a meaningful difference. Together, we can help prevent exploitation before it begins.

*Name changed to protect identity

Kiran has spent his life working as a security guard and securing odd jobs across the country to keep his family afloat. Almost a decade ago, while on the hunt for a job, Kiran stumbled across a private office in his hometown in India, which specialised in sending low-skilled labourers for blue-collar jobs in the UAE. He was warned that the jobs require a great amount of toiling, but it is lucrative and there is potential for saving up a big chunk of his salary to send back home. Hopeful at this prospect of finally being able to send his children to school without constantly worrying about their school fees, Kiran pooled all his savings and even borrowed some money from his friends, collecting almost 200,000 rupees in total and paid it to the labour-corridor office. The man in charge seemed experienced –he secured a passport for Kiran and even did all the paperwork for Kiran’s visa. Kiran was especially grateful for this help. With limited English skills, he already felt overwhelmed with the idea of going to a foreign country for work. 

Kiran landed in Dubai and received instructions that once he clears immigration, he will be received by the counterpart of the labour office employee who will  take him to his new workplace. However, a different reality awaited Kiran. At immigration, he was told that his visa was a mere 7-day tourist visa and that he must leave the country within a week to avoid being detained or arrested. Kiran left the airport confused, hoping for answers from his point of contact. However, he found no one waiting for him at the arrival gate, and the given phone number turned out to be invalid. Abandoned and with no way back home, Kiran had to scramble to gather funds to buy a return flight ticket. His father borrowed more money and managed to send a ticket just in time for Kiran to come back home safely. Kiran returned to India a week later, without a single penny in his pocket, and a loan that he needed to pay off. He went to the office in his hometown, only to find it empty, with no sign that the office existed. Kiran realised that he had been scammed and he had lost his money, along with the hopes of providing his family with a brighter future. 

Kiran told me that while in Dubai, he saw the Burj Khalifa, but he wasn’t able to enjoy its grandeur. One day, he would like to go back with his family for a vacation, just to change the narrative of how he spent his time in the UAE. My heart ached for him. The labouring classes of India are often engaged in gruelling work for a salary that barely allows them to survive. To lose your financial cushion hits harder for people like Kiran, who mostly live hand to mouth, and can barely afford a decent quality of life. 

However, when I told Kiran of my research that I did for ScamWatchers and the kind of stories I read, he expressed a small sigh of relief. At least he came back home to his family, relatively safe and sound, within a week. 

Unfortunately, this is not the same experience many victims of employment-based scams face. For many, such scams result in human trafficking into scam centres, which include a plethora of labour rights and human rights violations. Physical and mental violence, entrapment, bonded labour, and blackmail are just a few of the horrifying instances that victims of scam centres suffer through. 

This is nothing short of a call to action. Kiran’s story inspired me to write for ScamWatchers . Spreading awareness about such swindles can help people be on guard against them. Keep your eyes peeled, and if you are in close proximity with someone who is at risk of falling for such suspicious activities, play your part in warning them and making them aware of the dangers of employment scams. Stay vigilant, and help us create a world where one can work for their bread and butter without risking their life to the perils of labour scams and their resultant human rights abuses.

*Name changed to protect identity