Ah Yong (pseudonym) was born into a family of farmers, but from a young age, he aspired to become a hairdresser. However, financial problems were always the biggest obstacle in his pursuit of his dream. He needed to find a way to earn money to support his training and career aspirations.
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03-04, 2025Like many others, Ah Yong found it difficult to find a job after the COVID-19 pandemic. By chance, he learned about a job in Thailand from a fellow villager, which piqued his interest. The job promised a considerable salary, money that could help him continue his studies and get closer to his dream. This opportunity seemed like the perfect solution to his financial woes and a step towards achieving his goals.
He received a six-month work contract in Thailand, with the job description being data entry using a computer. However, after arriving in Thailand, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse, and Ah Yong discovered that he had been deceived. He was enslaved in a war-torn, remote region of Myanmar and forced to engage in online cryptocurrency scams. The reality was far from the promised job, and he found himself trapped in a dangerous and exploitative situation.
"The work was forced," said Ah Yong. "I just wanted to leave, go home, but I couldn't. I was afraid they would hit me." He was living in constant fear and desperation, longing for freedom and safety.
This type of scam, sometimes called "pig butchering," which refers to "fattening" the target before "slaughtering" them, is increasingly rampant worldwide, with thousands of Australians falling victim each year. According to the Australian National Anti-Scam Centre database, Australians have lost more than AUD 1 billion in investment scams and more than AUD 190 million in romance scams over the past five years. But victims often don't realize that the scammers they are facing are also likely victims themselves, suffering from a more serious crime—human trafficking. Raising awareness about this connection is crucial to understanding the full scope of the problem.
Michael Brosowski, founder of the Vietnamese anti-human trafficking organization Blue Dragon, said, "If you get a scam call and angrily hang up, you certainly have reason to be angry. But the person making that call is very likely also a victim of a terrible crime." Recognizing the vulnerability of these individuals is essential for a compassionate and effective response.
It took Ah Yong nearly a month to realize he was in Myanmar, not Thailand. During that time, he was forced to create fake online identities, posing as women, to deceive unsuspecting victims around the world. "We pretended to be women, talked to men, and tried to understand them," he said. By building relationships with these online targets, often following a pre-set script, Ah Yong and others could lure them into investing in fake cryptocurrency platforms. The deception was elaborate and manipulative, preying on people's trust and vulnerabilities.
Mr. Brosowski said that Blue Dragon has rescued nearly 400 people forced to engage in scam activities, and that number is increasing almost daily, with dozens of them being children. "They realize they've been tricked and are now in a very bad situation, and they can't leave." Often, the only way out is for the victim's family to pay a ransom of $5,000 to $10,000 (approximately AUD 8,000 to AUD 16,300)—an astronomical sum for many Vietnamese people, as the average monthly salary in Vietnam is about $600. The financial burden and emotional distress placed on these families are immense.
Under the threat of physical beatings and starvation, Ah Yong felt he had no choice but to participate in the scam activities. He said he was essentially starved for 15 days for failing to meet his scam quota, receiving only occasional scraps of food. Ngô Minh Hiếu, a former hacker, said that cyber slaves are often trapped and abused. Ngô Minh Hiếu served time in a US prison and now runs ChongLuaDao, a non-profit cybersecurity organization, and works with the Vietnam National Cyber Security Center to combat the global scam industry. These conditions highlight the brutal and inhumane treatment endured by victims of these scams.
"If the bosses of these scam gangs know that you are trying to escape or contact the police, you will be beaten. So it's very scary." Mr. Brosowski said that in some cases, female victims are stripped naked and sexually assaulted on camera, with threats to send the videos to their families or post them online. "Terror is one of the tools these human traffickers use," he said. The psychological impact of these threats and abuses can be devastating and long-lasting.
Mr. Brosowski said that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the situation. "This evolution of forced scams has been very rapid. I mean, it seems to have appeared out of nowhere." Mr. Ngô Minh Hiếu said that many people are looking for jobs and connections through the internet, which makes them vulnerable to exploitation. "For many people, their first computer is a smartphone." The increased reliance on technology has created new avenues for exploitation and deception.
Mr. Ngô Minh Hiếu said that the cyber slave scam industry has been expanding in recent years. "They are using high technology, such as artificial intelligence, deepfake technology, and at the same time, they are also conducting malware scams and phishing." He said that some people are using technology to virtually "undress" victims, some of whom are minors, in order to extort them. "They only need one photo." Another popular tool is AI-powered real-time language translation technology, which means that scammers don't need to speak the target language to deceive them. The sophistication and adaptability of these scams make them increasingly difficult to detect and prevent.
Some scammers have also set up fake websites that mimic Vietnamese government agencies. In late 2023, the Australian National Anti-Scam Centre warned the Australian Vietnamese community about a recent series of scams targeting them, with criminals falsely claiming to represent Vietnamese authorities. "This scam is very sophisticated and persuasive because it involves multiple offenders who exploit victims' fears by threatening them with imprisonment or falsely claiming they cannot return to Vietnam." Ah Yong said that most of the victims he was forced to target were Vietnamese people like himself. The use of impersonation and threats adds another layer of complexity and cruelty to these scams.
According to the 2023 Vietnam Scam Situation Report released by the Global Anti Scam Alliance, Vietnamese citizens lost 3.6% of the country's GDP, or more than $16 billion (AUD 25.5 billion), and the country remained one of the top 10 countries with the highest percentage of GDP lost last year. The financial impact of these scams on individuals and the nation as a whole is staggering.
Ah Yong knew little about the conspiracy behind the scheme that trapped him, only that his manager was Vietnamese and he suspected that the group's owners were Chinese. Chinese criminal groups are behind a large number of similar scams in the region, especially in Cambodia. This large-scale fraud and human trafficking has prompted several embassies in Asia to warn their citizens about such practices. International cooperation is essential to combat these transnational criminal networks.
In February of this year, Thailand announced that it would cut off the power supply to Myanmar's lawless border areas in an effort to curb the crisis. This followed a high-profile case in which Chinese actor Wang Xing was kidnapped and sent to a cyber scam center. He was quickly rescued after a social media campaign. Mr. Brosowski said that Australians who are targeted in scams should report the matter to the police and help them understand the full picture of the problem. Reporting these incidents is crucial for gathering data and developing effective strategies to combat these crimes.
Mr. Ngô Minh Hiếu said that one way to stop the global scam industry is to prevent personal data from being sold online. "Without identity data, there is no scam," he said, adding that pig butchering scammers cannot contact victims without phone numbers or email addresses. He also said that it is necessary to combat human trafficking to prevent criminal groups from gathering labor to carry out their scams. Protecting personal data and combating human trafficking are key steps in disrupting these criminal operations.
Mr. Ngô Minh Hiếu said that although he has assisted authorities in arresting about 70 criminals, they are usually low-level employees. He said it is difficult to work with "corrupt" authorities to crack down on the masterminds behind the scenes. When one scam den is shut down, another quickly replaces it, meaning that young people like Ah Yong continue to face risks. The persistence and adaptability of these criminal networks pose a significant challenge to law enforcement.
To protect his identity and safety, Ah Yong could not reveal details of how he escaped, saying only that he eventually escaped with other compatriots after a difficult trek. For Ah Yong, it was an emotional moment when he finally returned to Vietnam. His mother hugged him, and they both shed tears. Ah Yong is now working as a hairdresser, his dream job, although the trauma he suffered still lingers. "I was very happy when I was able to return to Vietnam," he said. "I know I have a happy future." Despite the hardships he endured, Ah Yong is determined to rebuild his life and pursue his dreams.
