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More Kenyans lured by fake overseas jobs, end up with Asia scammers
A job seeker holds a passport while filling out a form.
What you need to know:
- Between 2022 and 2025, the International Organization for Migration assisted more than 3,500 victims of trafficking forced criminality in Southeast Asia.
- In December 2025, the State Department for Diaspora Affairs said 119 Kenyans had been repatriated from scam compounds in Myanmar.
Kenyans are among thousands of victims trafficked and trapped in scam compounds in Asia, where job seekers were lured abroad with fake employment offers but forced to carry out online fraud, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has warned.
The warning comes as the global scale of trafficking for forced criminality grows, with victims from Kenya and Ethiopia among those identified and assisted by IOM after being trafficked into scam operations in Asia.
Between 2022 and 2025, IOM assisted more than 3,500 victims of trafficking forced criminality in Southeast Asia from 39 countries, working with local authorities and embassies to return them home. The largest numbers came from Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Kenya and Bangladesh.
But it seems recruiters never stopped to lure more back into bondage.
The UN migration agency said the growing involvement of East Africans shows that trafficking into scam networks is no longer a distant threat, with organised criminal groups increasingly exploiting people seeking work abroad.
“The identification of East Africans among victims rescued from scam compounds demonstrates that trafficking for forced criminality is no longer a distant threat. Criminal networks are actively targeting job seekers across our region with false promises of employment abroad,” said IOM Regional Director for East, Horn and Southern Africa Frantz Celestin.
The problem has continued to affect Kenyans. In December 2025, the State Department for Diaspora Affairs said 119 Kenyans had been repatriated from scam compounds in Myanmar, while 198 others remained stranded across the region awaiting repatriation.
A recent Kenyan court case has further exposed the brutality of the trafficking networks.
Earlier this month, the Employment and Labour Relations Court awarded a Kenyan woman Ksh7.37 million ($56,900) after finding that she had been trafficked to Myanmar and forced to work for up to 17 hours a day running online cryptocurrency fraud schemes.
The woman had been promised a food-packing job in Thailand paying about $2,000 a month, but was instead trafficked to a scam compound, according to court findings reported in July.
Victims are typically recruited through fake job advertisements promising legitimate employment overseas. Once they arrive at their destination, their passports may be confiscated and they are held in heavily guarded compounds, where they are forced to participate in online fraud targeting victims around the world.
Survivors have reported being subjected to violence, threats, coercion and debt bondage, as well as torture, sexual violence, starvation and prolonged solitary confinement.
IOM said the operations have become a major source of illicit revenue for organised criminal networks. New data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimates that scam offences across East Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand caused combined annual losses of between $88.3 billion and $114.1 billion in 2025.
Hundreds of thousands of trafficked workers are believed to be held in scam compounds across the region, according to the agency.
The warning comes ahead of the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons on July 30, which this year is being observed under the theme “Trapped Behind the Scam”.
IOM said the campaign seeks to shift the perception of people forced to commit crimes in scam centres, stressing that they are victims of trafficking and should be protected rather than prosecuted.
For many survivors, rescue marks only the beginning of a difficult recovery. Victims often return home with severe psychological trauma, stigma, debt and lost identity documents, while some fear prosecution for crimes they were forced to commit.
Celestin called for greater vigilance among job seekers and stronger cooperation between governments to disrupt trafficking networks.
“As migration opportunities expand, so too do the tactics of traffickers. We must strengthen awareness, promote safe and informed migration, enhance cross-border cooperation, and ensure victims receive the protection and assistance they need to recover and rebuild their lives,” he said.
In June 2026, a rights group said at least 20 Kenyans were among more than 5,300 people still trapped in four scam compounds near Myanmar's border with Thailand. The figure comes from the Civil Society Network for Human Trafficking Victim Assistance, which wrote to Thai police seeking intervention.
The same June report said the 5,300-plus included about 1,600 Chinese nationals, 200 Burmese, 20 Thais, with other victims from countries including African nations. The Kenyan figure of 20 therefore appears to be a minimum identified figure, not necessarily the total number of Kenyans still trapped.
IOM urged Kenyans and other prospective migrants to verify overseas employment offers before travelling and to be wary of recruiters promising unusually high salaries, rapid deployment or jobs that appear too good to be true.
The agency said it is working with governments, law enforcement agencies, civil society organisations and international partners across East, Horn and Southern Africa to identify victims, facilitate safe return and provide protection and reintegration support.
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