Interpol warns: explosion of human trafficking through Internet fraud!

Interpol warns: explosion of human trafficking through Internet fraud!

Vienna, Österreich - Interpol has given an alarming warning and indicates a "global crisis" in human trafficking, which affects hundreds of thousands of victims. In view of the increasing number of people who are forced to work for forced labor in professionally organized online fraud centers. Affected people come from 66 countries and are widespread on all continents. Originally, these fraud centers concentrated, especially in some Southeast Asian countries, but in recent years there were also increasingly discovered centers in West Africa, Central America and the Middle East. In the past five years, three out of four victims have been smuggled into these regions, which underlined the urgency of the international reaction.

In many cases, the victims are attracted by false job offers, only to be captured in camps. Not only are they blackmailed and beaten, but also sexually exploited, tortured or even raped. The conditions are frightening and the victims are forced to cheat other people on the Internet to get their money. This development confirms the need for more international information exchange and improved cooperation between the countries concerned, as Cyril Gout demands from Interpol.

coordinated international operations

Interior cooperation is particularly important because victims are often attracted by incorrect job promises and then abused. The rescued victims also include minors who had to work on Argentine farms, as well as migrants who were forced in discos in northern Macedonia. The situation in the Middle East is also worrying, where people were captured and abused as household help. There were also cases of forced beds in Iraq.

decline in the uncovered cases and challenges

In 2020, the number of human trafficking cases that have been covered worldwide fell by 11 % compared to the previous year, which has been the first decline in 20 years. The reason for this is the restrictions by the COVID-19 pandemic, which influenced the possibilities of the law enforcement authorities and the scope for manner of human dealers. A report by the United Nations Office for Drug and Crime Constitution (UNODC) emphasizes that human trafficking is increasingly moving underground, which makes combating these crimes even more difficult.

In a global examination, which included 166 countries, 60 % of the cases covered concerned women and girls, whereby women and girls in particular often become victims of sexual exploitation. Forced labor can be found more often in boys and men. Combating human trafficking is part of the United Nations' global sustainability strategy, which demands effective measures to abolish forced labor, modern slavery and human trafficking by 2030.