South Africans lured abroad, forced into online dating scams targeting people around the world
A growing number of South Africans are pleading for help to return home after being lured to Southeast Asia under false promises of high-paying jobs, only to find themselves trapped in cyber-scam compounds where they are forced to run online dating scams targeting people across the world.
Non-governmental organisation Brave To Love, which has been assisting affected families, says the victims were recruited through social media and online adverts offering legitimate-sounding jobs in Thailand. Once they arrived, they were taken across the border into Myanmar, where armed guards and traffickers keep them locked inside heavily secured compounds.
“The guys are staying in bunk beds, in dormitories. They are given just a bottle of water. Most of the people are working 18 to 20-hour shifts at times with specific deadlines and targets. If they do not meet them, they institute fines and beatings,” said Byron Mann, director of Brave To Love, speaking to broadcaster Newzroom Afrika.
Inside the compounds, the victims are forced to carry out romance scams, posing as online partners to trick unsuspecting victims – often in the United Kingdom and the United States – into sending money.
Mann described the situation as modern-day slavery, saying many South Africans remain trapped in Myanmar’s regions which are notorious for human trafficking and online fraud operations.
Trafficked into cyber slavery
Human rights organisations say thousands of people from Africa and Asia have been caught in what they describe as “cyberslavery” – a new form of trafficking where victims are forced to commit online fraud under threat of violence. Workers in these compounds are often made to run romance scams, fake investment schemes and cryptocurrency cons.
They are routinely beaten, denied food, and sold between syndicates if they resist.
Experts say South Africa’s high unemployment rate and the rising cost of living have made many young people vulnerable to these traps.
jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za
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