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Bi-Directional Exploitation of Human Trafficking Victims: Both Targets and Perpetrators in Cybercrime

Gargi Sarkar ; Sandeep K. Shukla (2024) — Journal of Human Trafficking

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DOI: 10.1080/23322705.2024.2353015 (opens in a new tab)

Type:   Journal Article
Country:   Global
Tags:   Cyber Enabled Trafficking, Cybercrime, Human Trafficking, Pig Butchering, Policy And Law Enforcement, Romance Scams, Sezs And Cross Border Crime, Special Economic Zones, Transnational Organized Crime
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Synopsis

            
The article employs theoretical analysis and synthesis of reports to articulate a bidirectional relationship between cybercrime and human trafficking. It reviews mechanisms of cyber-enabled trafficking (phishing, disinformation, online romance, pig-butchering), traces origins (Cambodia regulatory changes; COVID-era dynamics), and discusses impacts on victims and funding for organized crime, followed by policy and enforcement implications. The label "pig butchering" may stigmatize victims, increase shame, and discourage crime reporting. Cybercrime succeeds through social engineering that exploits fear, trust, greed, love, curiosity, scarcity, urgency, and emotional narratives. Limitations include reliance on secondary reports and policy documents, potential source bias, under-reporting and clandestine networks, attribution challenges in cybercrime, regional focus on Southeast Asia limiting generalizability, and limited granular victim data.

          

        
                  

            
Identified Gaps

            
Explicit gaps include limited empirical data on the bidirectional nexus, especially victim experiences and the scale of male-educated victims; need for cross-national datasets; insufficient understanding of how cyber-enabled trafficking expands via SEZs; lack of standardized methods to measure hybrid crimes; gaps in policy implementation and enforcement across jurisdictions; need to assess the effectiveness of current international responses and cooperation.

          

        
                  

            
Methods

            
The article employs theoretical analysis and synthesis of reports to articulate a bidirectional relationship between cybercrime and human trafficking. It reviews mechanisms of cyber-enabled trafficking (phishing, disinformation, online romance, pig-butchering), traces origins (Cambodia regulatory changes; COVID-era dynamics), and discusses impacts on victims and funding for organized crime, followed by policy and enforcement implications.

          

        
                  

            
Limitations

            
Limitations include reliance on secondary reports and policy documents, potential source bias, under-reporting and clandestine networks, attribution challenges in cybercrime, regional focus on Southeast Asia limiting generalizability, and limited granular victim data.

          

        
                  

            
Future Work

            
Future work should pursue empirical exploration of bidirectional cyber-enabled trafficking, including prevalence, victim trajectories, and the role of male, educated victims. Studies with cross-border data, comparative regional analyses, and longitudinal designs are needed to quantify the synergy between cybercrime and trafficking. Evaluate effectiveness of legal interventions and policy measures; develop detection and prevention strategies for online recruitment, romance scams, and pig-butchering; assess the impact of SEZs and cross-border corridors. Encourage multi-stakeholder collaboration among policymakers, law enforcement, international organizations, and researchers; build data-sharing frameworks and capacity-building for victim support and prosecution.

          

              

    
    

        
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