Scamming to Survive – Blue Dragon’s new report exposes how Vietnamese people are trafficked into scam compounds

Blue Dragon’s new report is the largest study to date on how trafficking for forced criminality impacts Vietnamese people.

Scamming to Survive analyses 21 court cases heard in Vietnam between 2022 and 2024, involving 130 victims and 43 traffickers, to shed light on who is being trafficked into scam compounds across Southeast Asia, how it happens and by whom.

A new victim profile

The study finds that most Vietnamese victims of forced scamming are young men from poor and rural backgrounds, often with low levels of education and limited job opportunities.

“The majority of victims are male, poor, not well educated and desperate for work,” says Dr Caitlin Wyndham, Blue Dragon’s Research and Learning Leader and co-author of the report.

While women and ethnic minorities have long been at highest risk of trafficking, the report highlights a major shift in victim demographics – showing that men from Vietnam’s majority Kinh group are now being targeted through false job offers and online recruitment scams.

These findings present new challenges for service providers. “Until now, most trafficking services in Vietnam have been designed for women and girls,” Dr Wyndham explains. “Only a handful of organisations, including Blue Dragon, provide support to both male and female victims.”

Male victims of forced online scamming returning to Vietnam.

Traffickers as disadvantaged as their victims

The report also reveals that most traffickers share similar backgrounds to their victims. Many are first-time offenders who were themselves struggling financially, working informal jobs or unemployed before committing their crimes.

A key finding is that 65% of victims knew their traffickers, indicating that these perpetrators are relatively “opportunistic” and leverage connections within their own communities. “This means public messages that warn potential victims to be cautious of strangers or people with criminal records can actually be harmful, because in reality, in Vietnam, most traffickers – or at least the initial recruiters – are people the victims already know,” says Luong Le, Blue Dragon’s Anti-Trafficking in Persons Director and co-author of the report.

Another 30% of victims were deceived through fake job ads found online. This underscores the urgent need for digital literacy training and stronger collaboration with technology companies to prevent online recruitment scams.

A human trafficker being sentenced in court.

Violence amounting to torture

The report finds that victims of forced scamming endure extreme violence inside the compounds – including beatings, electric shocks and starvation – to coerce them into committing online scams.

“This violence is systematic and fits the legal definition of torture,” says Jhinuk Mukhopadhyay, co-author of the report. “Under international law, states who fail to take measures against torture committed within their territories can be held accountable.”

A need for international collaboration

Unlike other forms of trafficking in Vietnam, forced scamming is driven by large organised crime syndicates operating across borders. Those prosecuted in Vietnam are often the “last link” in a much larger chain, while the masterminds behind the networks remain beyond the country’s jurisdiction.

“Our analysis shows that tackling forced scamming requires strong international collaboration – between governments, and between public and private actors,” says Le. “A deeper understanding of this crime is crucial for prevention, prosecution and the protection of victims.”

Building evidence for change

“To effectively combat this new and extremely significant form of trafficking, organisations like Blue Dragon, law enforcement agencies, and service providers need evidence,” says Dr Wyndham. “Our hope is that this report builds that understanding and leads to evidence-based solutions.”

Download the full report: Scamming to Survive