INTERPOL Warns the World: Scam Centres Are Becoming Human Trafficking Hubs

INTERPOL’s General Assembly in Marrakech, Morocco has sounded an urgent global warning about the rapid rise of transnational scam centres—criminal hubs responsible not only for large-scale financial fraud but also for severe human trafficking and exploitation. According to the resolution, many victims are lured through fake overseas job offers with the promise of high salaries and comfortable living conditions, only to be transported into heavily guarded compounds where their passports are confiscated and they are forced to carry out illegal operations such as voice-phishing, romance scams, investment fraud, and cryptocurrency schemes that target people worldwide. While some workers are recruited knowingly, many are victims of trafficking who endure unimaginable abuse including physical torture, sexual exploitation, starvation, and psychological manipulation. The resolution, proposed by the Republic of Korea, also highlights how these criminal networks increasingly rely on advanced technologies—AI deepfakes, encrypted communication, and sophisticated digital deception—to scale their operations and evade law enforcement. With these syndicates rapidly adapting and expanding across borders, INTERPOL stresses that no country can combat this threat alone, calling for stronger international cooperation, intelligence sharing, and coordinated rescue missions to dismantle these dangerous criminal ecosystems and protect victims trapped inside them.