On June 7th, a report released by the International Criminal Police Organization showed that human trafficking has become an urgent "global threat" and an orange alert has been issued to member countries for this.

The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) stated that organized human trafficking originated in three Southeast Asian countries from the source of criminals, and now a few criminals have brought their "experience" to Africa, Europe, and the Americas. The scope of victims is no longer limited to Asian countries, and many victims have also appeared in the populations of Europe and America.

On May 6th, an official in the Philippines stated that Philippine authorities have rescued over 1000 individuals who were trafficked into the country and forced to engage in online fraud

In the past, victims of human trafficking were often forced to engage in physical labor, or were forced to engage in drug trafficking, prostitution, etc. Nowadays, human trafficking often uses high paying jobs as bait, targeting young people with a certain level of education and economic strength. After being deceived, these people mainly engage in fraudulent work that requires a certain level of technical expertise.

The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) states that the victims have also become "perpetrators", creating secondary victims, which is a new characteristic of human trafficking crimes at present.

Rapid expansion of scale:

Almost worldwide

According to the latest research by the International Criminal Police Organization, the scale and scope of human trafficking are expanding at an astonishing speed. The organization warns that thousands of people suffer from this crime every year, and it also spawns many new victims. Previously, many countries underestimated the level of threat posed by human trafficking activities.

The Secretary General of the International Criminal Police Organization, Jurgen Stoke, stated that the origin of this criminal activity was in Southeast Asia, with Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar being major centers of human trafficking. At least four other Asian countries have also discovered trafficking centers, but he has not specifically named them. Stoke said, "This is an ominous trend. It used to be just a regional threat, but now it has evolved into a global population crisis."

According to the crime hotspots map compiled by the International Criminal Police Organization, human trafficking has expanded from the initial three countries to neighboring Southeast Asian countries, and then to regions such as Asia, Europe and America, West Africa, Central America, and the Arabian Peninsula, all of which are deeply mired in the quagmire of cyberfinance crimes.

From the demographic data of the victims, it can be seen that the initial targets of human trafficking organizations were mainly citizens of Asian countries. Currently, the source range of victims has expanded to populations in South America, East Africa, and Eastern Europe, which has exacerbated the complexity of the problem.

Escalation of criminal means:

Targeting young and highly educated individuals

The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) stated that the criminal organizations behind human trafficking gangs often advertise for high paying job opportunities on social media and recruitment websites. Once the victim is hooked, they will be kidnapped to a place with poor conditions and forced to carry out "love killing pig plates", cryptocurrency or stock trading account opening scams, etc.

In recent years, the educational level and educational level of victims have also been increasing, as can be seen from the false advertisements published by criminal groups. In the past, the positions promised by false advertising were simple positions such as telephone customer service and concierge reception, and the salaries offered far exceeded the normal and reasonable level. Nowadays, these types of advertisements are lured under the guise of recruiting "IT engineers" and "cryptocurrency technology experts" with high salaries, and the victims of the recruitment are many young and highly educated elites.

The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) has stated that the future situation in combating human trafficking and online fraud is very severe. The organization calls for strengthened cooperation and intelligence exchange between law enforcement agencies, non-governmental organizations, financial intelligence agencies, and private sector companies in various countries. This collective effort is crucial for destroying the extensive money laundering networks that facilitate these criminal activities and helping to save victims of human trafficking.

Isaac Espinosa, Acting Coordinator of the International Criminal Police Organization's Department to Combat Human Trafficking and Immigration, said, "In the past year, we have provided support to member states in cases involving hundreds of victims of human trafficking. However, every year, thousands of people continue to be victims of these ruthless criminal groups. We must strengthen intelligence cooperation to further prevent exploitation and rescue victims from these terrible situations."

New features of crime:

The victim becomes the perpetrator

The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) states that the victims also become "perpetrators" and create secondary victims, which is a new characteristic of human trafficking crimes at present. After the International Criminal Police Organization issued an orange alert, law enforcement agencies from multiple Southeast Asian countries have called for strengthened information exchange and cooperation to jointly combat human trafficking criminal networks.

Singapore's Minister of the Interior and Minister of Justice, Sammugen, stated that the Singaporean police are closely monitoring potential human trafficking activities to prevent scam victims from being lured to neighboring countries such as Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand to work and fall into the trap of criminal organizations in Singapore.

Shang Mugen stated that he has submitted a report to the Singaporean parliament detailing the case of Singaporean victims being left to work for fraud groups in Myanmar. The Singapore police are currently actively in contact with the Myanmar police, hoping to resolve this matter through cooperation.

Malaysia has also been impacted by human trafficking networks. The head of the country's police department stated that as of October 2022, a total of 313 Malaysians have fallen victim to the "high paying job" scam and have been forced to become members of fraudulent organizations in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and other places. More than 200 of them have been safely repatriated after being rescued, while the rest are still being detained in the affected country, awaiting deportation before returning to Malaysia.

Philippine Immigration Commissioner Tanshinko stated that the issue of human trafficking is "both serious and complex", requiring not only government action but also joint efforts from law enforcement agencies, non-governmental organizations, intelligence agencies, and the private sector.

"The victims of trafficking endure forced labor, extortion, sexual exploitation, and even organ removal. At the same time, they also engage in various fraudulent activities online," said Tanshinko.

The Philippine Immigration Agency told the media that they have noticed an increasing number of young and highly educated individuals, even those with good travel records, high-income jobs, and graduates from good schools, are attracted to the scam of "high paying jobs.". Recently, a 26 year old Filipino was deceived by false job advertisements posted on social media platforms. This job promised a high paying "tourism job" in Thailand, but he found out after contacting an agent that he had been sent to Laos. Fortunately, he received assistance through the Philippine Embassy and has now fled Laos.

"This is something we see almost every day, and professionals from good backgrounds have also become victims. Since last year, we have issued multiple warnings about this," said Tanshinko.

Red Star News reporter Zheng Zhi