Trafficking: IOM Warns Criminal Gangs Increasingly Lure People Into Online Scams

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has warned that as global attention turns to criminal gangs luring people into online scam centres through fake job offers, human trafficking is also evolving across West and Central Africa, where people continue to be exploited along migration routes.

The IOM in a statement to mark this year’s   World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, stressed that vulnerable people also being exploited   in labour markets, across borders and increasingly through digital recruitment and forced criminality.

On World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, marked this year under the theme “Trapped Behind the Scam,” IOM is calling for stronger, coordinated and victim-centred responses, as its regional assistance data points to both the scale of trafficking and the speed at which traffickers are adapting.

The IOM said that while scam-centre trafficking has drawn particular attention in Asia, the warning signs are increasingly relevant for West and Central Africa: deceptive recruitment, promises of work abroad that appear too good to be true, tourist visas instead of work permits, confiscated documents, debt bondage and pressure to repay inflated costs.

It said further that reduced protection funding can make it harder to identify victims early, provide safe alternatives and sustain cross-border cooperation.

“Trafficking in persons is evolving in West and Central Africa, and our collective response must evolve with it,” Sylvia Ekra, IOM Regional Director for West and Central Africa said.

“Whether a person is exploited in a household, on a farm, in a mine, on the street or behind a screen, they are victims of trafficking when coercion, deception or abuses are involved. People forced into scams or other criminal activity need protection, dignity and support, not stigma or punishment” Ekra added.

Globally, IOM has warned that hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked into online scam operations after being deceived by fake job advertisements, often promoted through social media. Once recruited, victims may be confined, stripped of documents, subjected to surveillance, threats, violence and debt bondage, and forced to run online scams.

In 2026 alone, IOM supported 1,513 victims of trafficking in West and Central Africa, including 491 men and 1,022 women, as of 16 July. Women represent more than two thirds of victims assisted this year, reflecting patterns of sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, forced marriage, labour exploitation and other forms of gendered vulnerability. Men and boys are also targeted, particularly for forced labour, forced begging, exploitative work in mining and agriculture, recruitment scams and forced criminality.

The IOM added that between 2017 and 2026, the Organization assisted 12,308 victims of trafficking across the region, including 3,185 men.

IOM’s data also shows that trafficking affecting West and Central African nationals is not only outward movement. Four of the top ten destination countries for victims assisted by IOM between 2017 and 2026 are within the region, underscoring the need to address intra-African and intra-regional trafficking dynamics.

“Trafficking networks operate across borders, corridors, communities, online spaces and labour markets. Protection cannot stop at one border or one point of return,” Ekra said.

“A route-based approach helps ensure that people at risk can be identified and supported wherever they are along the journey, through referral pathways, legal aid, shelter, psychosocial support, safe return and reintegration where appropriate, and access to national protection systems.”

Across West and Central Africa, IOM supports governments, civil society and community actors to strengthen protection and assistance for victims of trafficking and migrants in vulnerable situations. Through transit centers and migrant resource and response mechanisms, providing protection screening, counselling, documentation support, assisted voluntary return and reintegration, and referrals to health, legal and psychosocial services.

Beyond direct assistance, IOM focuses on prevention by addressing the conditions traffickers exploit, including limited opportunities, unemployment, poverty, exclusion, weak access to education and skills, and the absence of safe and regular pathways. This includes supporting youth skills development, vocational training, entrepreneurship and livelihoods so young people and returning migrants can build safer futures.

Working with communities, schools, local authorities, media, civil society and migrant networks, IOM raises awareness of trafficking risks, deceptive recruitment, online scams and irregular migration, helping people recognize warning signs, make informed decisions and know where to seek support.

In West and Central Africa, where mobility is central to livelihoods, family ties, regional integration and opportunity, the response to trafficking must be anchored in efforts to strengthen migration governance.