Urgent Appeal: Trapped Behind the Screen
The hidden modern slavery behind online scam centres.
Online scams are more than a cybercrime problem. Behind some of the messages, phone calls and fraudulent investment schemes are people who have been trafficked and forced to scam others. Lured by fake job offers, people can be trapped in scam compounds, have their passports taken and face violence and abuse if they refuse to work.
This is modern slavery — and it is growing.
Maya is a fictional character created by Civic Studios and Anti-Slavery International, who features in Civic Studios’ Scam City micro-drama that depicts this new form of modern slavery. We follow Maya, who thinks she has found a job. Instead, she is trafficked into a scam compound and forced to defraud people online. Her story reflects the real patterns of exploitation experienced by people trafficked into scam centres.
Maya’s story is fictional, the exploitation is not. And for some people, this is their reality.
Read Emmanuel and Matthew’s story in the Guardian
Read Duncan’s story in the Guardian
Read ASI’s post on cyber scam centres
WHY YOUR SUPPORT MATTERS
This is a growing crisis.
- People from 66 countries have been identified among trafficking victims taken into scam centres.
- The UN has reported that hundreds of thousands of people have been forcibly engaged in online criminality in Southeast Asia and beyond.
Donate to help build the response
Help combat this growing crisis. Your donation can help Anti-Slavery International build the evidence, partnerships and influence needed to make that response possible.
