Forced scamming is a brutal new form of slavery. Right now, thousands of victims are being trafficked, trapped in guarded compounds and forced to scam people like you and me, under the threat of brutal violence. It’s being reported in The Guardian and The Economist.

This crime is growing fast. Interpol has just announced that forced scamming is now a global crisis "representing a serious and imminent threat to public safety." UK banks are also warning of huge increases in online scams.

• A victim is recruited via a fake job advert and trafficked into a heavily-guarded compound.

• Once at the compound, traffickers take the victim’s passport and phone. They are left trapped, isolated and alone.
• The victim is forced to conduct scams for up to 20 hours a day, six days a week.
• The victim often experiences extreme violence including electrocution or rape.

• Hundreds of thousands of people are estimated to be working in the scamming industry in South East Asia.
• Cambodia initially emerged as a primary hotspot for this crime, but exploitation has now been reported in Laos, Myanmar, Philippines – and further afield.
  
• 35+ different nationalities have been found in scamming compounds, including three cases of people trafficked from the UK.
• Forced scamming generates an estimated US$12B per year in Cambodia alone.
• UK banks are also warning of huge increases in online scams (BBC).
• Interpol has issued a warning that forced scamming is a "global threat to public safety." (Interpol)