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A new type of victim? Profiling survivors of modern slavery in the online scam industry in Southeast Asia

Ivan Franceschini ; Ling Li ; Yige Hu ; Mark Bo (2024) — Trends in Organized Crime

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DOI: 10.1007/s12117-024-09552-2 (opens in a new tab)

Type:   Journal Article
Country:   Global
Tags:   Forced Criminality, Human Trafficking, Modern Slavery, Online Scam Industry, Pig Butchering, Recruitment, Scam Compounds, Southeast Asia
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Synopsis

            
The study used mixed methods. An anonymised 2023 Microsoft Forms survey gathered data from 62 of 152 contacted mainland Chinese survivors who had escaped or been rescued from compounds in Cambodia, Myanmar, or Laos. Separately, researchers conducted semi-structured, in-person interviews with 71 survivors in Cambodia and Thailand between 2022 and early 2024. The findings challenge the assumption that trafficking victims in scam compounds are generally highly educated and technically skilled. Violence, threats, and confiscation of property were frequently reported during irregular travel. The survey focused largely on Chinese survivors because Sinophone people initially comprised much of the workforce.

          

        
                  

            
Identified Gaps

            
Grounded research on modern slavery in Southeast Asian scam compounds remains scarce. Existing discussion often rests on assumptions that survivors are highly educated, technically skilled, and multilingual, rather than systematic evidence. The authors identify fragmented information and a need for more comprehensive data collection and information-sharing. Their China-focused survey also does not represent the increasingly multinational workforce, leaving variation by origin, education, gender, and other characteristics insufficiently understood.

          

        
                  

            
Methods

            
The study used mixed methods. An anonymised 2023 Microsoft Forms survey gathered data from 62 of 152 contacted mainland Chinese survivors who had escaped or been rescued from compounds in Cambodia, Myanmar, or Laos. Separately, researchers conducted semi-structured, in-person interviews with 71 survivors in Cambodia and Thailand between 2022 and early 2024. Interview notes were coded through content analysis to triangulate and extend survey findings. Recruitment was mediated by anti-trafficking civil-society teams, with informed-consent, confidentiality, and withdrawal protections.

          

        
                  

            
Limitations

            
The survey focused largely on Chinese survivors because Sinophone people initially comprised much of the workforce. It therefore cannot represent the increasingly diverse workforce recruited as operators target global populations. The authors partly addressed this by interviewing survivors of other nationalities, but call for further grounded comparative research. The survey also excluded questions on experiences inside compounds and on how participants exited, limiting evidence on those stages.

          

        
                  

            
Future Work

            
Conduct grounded, comparative surveys across nationalities to examine how trafficking patterns differ by country of origin, education, gender, and other factors. Develop targeted safe-migration training through trade unions and civil-society organisations. Provide vocational training, current safe-migration programmes, and psychological counselling to reduce re-trafficking and support survivor reintegration.

          

              

    
    

        
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