Safeer Mohammed Koorimannil had an offer of employment abroad, and opportunity beckoned. Instead, it was a journey into one of the world's most sophisticated cybercrime networks.
The Kerala native was trafficked to a scam compound in Myanmar after being lured with the promise of legitimate employment. But instead of an office, he was locked inside what investigators now describe as an AI-powered cyber scam centre. Armed guards, electric batons, constant surveillance and impossible performance targets became part of everyday life. His job was not to answer customer questions; his job was to fool strangers from all over the world into falling in love with a fictional woman called “Ella”. All targets assigned had to be emotionally invested within four days. Failure was punishment.
Safeer’s story is no longer an isolated tragedy. This is the evolution of cybercrime into an international industry involving human trafficking, artificial intelligence, organised crime and psychological manipulation on an unprecedented scale.
The face of the cyber scam today looks less like the stereotypical lone hacker operating from a dark room and more like a corporate campus. Fortified compounds scattered across Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos are home to thousands of trafficked workers from India, Bangladesh, Nepal, China, the Philippines, Kenya, Brazil and several African countries. Many were lured by fake overseas job ads promising work in customer service, digital marketing or data entry. When they arrive, their passports are taken away, they are not allowed to move around, and they are forced to commit online fraud under the threat of violence. United Nations estimates that over 120,000 people have been trapped in scam compounds across Myanmar alone, while similar facilities operate throughout Southeast Asia.
These modern fraud factories differ from earlier call-centre scams in that they use artificial intelligence.
Survivors like Safeer said employees no longer handwrite messages. AI software generates human-sounding conversation starters, writes emotional scripts and personalises responses so that the company can have hundreds of conversations at the same time. Workers masquerade as attractive professionals, entrepreneurs or investors, often using AI-generated profile pictures and translation tools to speak fluently with victims in several countries. Human operators supervise conversations. Artificial intelligence dramatically enhances speed and scale.
Now, it is seldom the aim to steal it.
“Pig butchering” scams, as they are known to cybersecurity experts, are what scammers use instead, building emotional trust over weeks or months before persuading victims to invest in fake cryptocurrency platforms or hand over large sums of money.
The victims think that they are making a real friend or a real girlfriend or boyfriend, and in reality every single thing you say is scripted and pre-programmed by criminal gangs with special software. With AI, these scams have evolved from labour-intensive operations into highly efficient digital assembly lines that can target thousands of people at once.
But the exploitation goes beyond the victims being defrauded.
Those trapped inside scam compounds are victims of human trafficking themselves. Survivors said they worked 16 to 17 hours a day and were constantly watched. And if you miss your quotas – well, physical assaults, electric shocks, food deprivation or prolonged confinement are often consequences. Attempts to escape may result in even harsher punishment or sale to another criminal organisation that commodifies trafficked workers.
Many of those rescued suffer severe psychological trauma long after they return home.
Governments have started to react, but breaking the networks has been very difficult.
Thailand, Myanmar, China and India have jointly rescued thousands of trafficked workers from infamous compounds along the Myanmar-Thailand border. India has repatriated hundreds of citizens who were forced to perpetrate online fraud. Rights groups estimate more than 5,300 people are still trapped in scam compounds near Myanmar's border and criminal syndicates continue to shift operations to evade law enforcement. Experts say destroying physical compounds is not enough because the financial infrastructure, recruitment networks and digital technologies remain intact.
India's connection to this ecosystem is becoming increasingly significant.
Indian agencies have traced multiple forms of domestic cyber frauds, including “digital arrest” scams, to transnational criminal networks operating out of Myanmar and neighbouring countries. Social media ads and overseas placement agencies are still used by recruiters to target unemployed youth with the hope of better-paying jobs abroad. Many victims only discover they have been duped when they have crossed international borders and have nowhere to run.
The next pop-up message on a smartphone could be from a friendly stranger wanting to chat, or a trusted investment advisor promising financial success. The truth is, it might be from someone who is as much a victim as the one being targeted.
As artificial intelligence continues to reshape communication, governments, technology companies, and international organisations face an urgent challenge: combating not only increasingly sophisticated cyber fraud but also the human trafficking networks that sustain it. The battle against online scams, therefore, is no longer just a cybersecurity issue; it has become a fight for human rights, digital governance, and international cooperation in an increasingly interconnected world.
References:
- Deccan Chronicle
https://www.deccanchronicle.com - Fast Company
https://www.fastcompany.com - Communications Today
https://www.communicationstoday.co.in. . .