The Voices of Survivors Part II

“I belong to a big family of seven, and among us, I was the only one capable of making good money.” 

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/