The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has issued a warning about bogus job advertisements luring people to Southeast Asia, where “victims are held against their will and forced to commit international crypto scams on unsuspecting victims”.
These scammers usually spread advertisements on social networks and lure their victims by promising them high-paying jobs. Upon arrival, however, the victims have their passports confiscated and are forced to work defrauding innocent people. Moreover, if the workers did not succeed, they risked being tortured, abused, murdered or sold to another gang.
FBI Warning
According to the press release, the FBI has warned U.S. citizens and people living or traveling abroad to beware of fake job postings linked to labor trafficking. The intelligence service said threat actors are targeting victims, mostly in Asia, in employment fraud schemes by posting fake job ads on social media and online job boards.
The bogus jobs could range from tech support, call center customer service and beauty salon technicians, the FBI said. Lucrative benefits, salaries and housing are offered in order to attract victims.
“Often, throughout the process, the job location is offset from the advertised location. Upon arrival of job seekers in the foreign country, criminal actors use multiple means to coerce them into committing cryptocurrency investment schemes, such as confiscating passports and travel documents, threatening of violence and the use of violence.
The victims are then forced to pay an increasing debt – travel expenses, room and board. When the debt gets worse when they are often sold to other criminal groups.
The FBI has detailed some steps to avoid falling into such traps. This includes researching the advertised company before accepting a job offer, as well as keeping an eye out for “vague language” about the company or limited job details. Job seekers should also be wary of advertisements with unusually high salaries and numerous benefits.
Crypto scam rings
The latest warning comes amid numerous reports of crypto scam rings using enslaved individuals. In November last year, the Cambodian government faced serious backlash for allegedly turning a blind eye to Chinese criminal networks that trafficked nearly 100,000 migrant workers and forced them to run online scams, including fraudulent crypto ICOs.
Most recently, the Philippine National Police (PNP) rescued 1,000 human trafficking victims who were forced to work up to 18 hours a day for cryptocurrency scams earlier this month. After dismantling the scam ring, authorities arrested 12 suspected ringleaders.
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