New York Times story on cyber-scams and forced criminality in Asia cites research by USAID Thailand CTIP
An in-depth story in The New York Times about cyber-scamming and forced criminality in South Asia cites a report conducted by the USAID Thailand Counter Trafficking in Persons project and a social enterprise partner, Humanity Research Consultancy.
The feature story in the Times, by reporter Tara Siegel Bernard, is headlined: “Swindled Savings: Lured by a Promising Job, He Was Forced to Scam People.” It focuses on a Ugandan man who was tricked into migrating to Thailand for what he believed to be a temporary job in online marketing with a legitimate company.
Here’s an excerpt:
“Hundreds of thousands of people have been lured into scamming operations. In Mr. Muyeke’s case, he was ensnared through a promising job opportunity. After a harrowing journey spanning thousands of miles, he was trapped inside one of the hundreds of compounds in Southeast Asia, often controlled by Chinese organized crime rings and set up for industrial-scale scamming.
“These fraud farms — some of which are repurposed casinos that were shuttered during pandemic lockdowns — are often staffed with trafficked workers laboring under the threat of severe beatings, electric shock or worse.
“’Cyber-enabled fraud perpetrated by powerful transnational criminal networks has evolved into a thriving multibillion-dollar illicit industry that now exceeds the G.D.P. of several countries in Southeast Asia combined,’ said John Wojcik, regional analyst at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.”
Winrock International, one of the U.S. government’s largest implementers of counter trafficking-in-persons programming in Asia, works with local partners, advocacy and research groups, governments and survivors’ networks to increase awareness of and help prevent threats posed by cyber-scamming and forced criminality. In addition to the USAID Thailand CTIP project, Winrock implements counter-trafficking projects with local partners in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Vietnam and Turkmenistan.
The Winrock and HRC report cited in the Times’ story is titled: “Responses to Trafficking in Persons for Forced Criminality in the Thai Context.” It provides an overview of trafficking for forced criminality involving Thailand, covering the trafficking routes, modus operandi and trends related to TIP for forced criminality. It outlines the legal frameworks in Thailand to address forced criminality at the domestic, bilateral and regional levels.
Earlier in 2024, the Cambodia CTIP project implemented by Winrock facilitated visits and knowledge exchange between representatives of USAID, civil society organizations, community based groups, survivors and others to learn about forced online scamming in Cambodia and across the region.
To read the full Times piece, please click here.
For information about Winrock’s locally led Human Rights, Education & Empowerment work, please click here.
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