By The Pulseline News Desk
As Sri Lanka marks the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, authorities are drawing attention to a disturbing new dimension of human trafficking — one that increasingly unfolds behind computer screens rather than across physical borders.
The warning comes as governments around the world grapple with the rapid expansion of online scam operations run by organised criminal networks that recruit, deceive and imprison victims, forcing them to carry out cyber fraud under threats of violence.
In a message marking the international day, Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Chairman of the National Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force, Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha (Retd), said this year’s global theme, “Trapped Behind the Scam,” reflects the changing face of human trafficking in the digital era.
He cautioned that many individuals involved in online scam compounds are not willing participants but victims themselves — lured abroad with false promises of legitimate employment before being trapped, threatened and forced to commit financial crimes.
A crime that keeps evolving
Traditionally associated with forced labour and sexual exploitation, human trafficking has increasingly expanded into cybercrime.
International law enforcement agencies have uncovered sophisticated criminal syndicates operating scam compounds across parts of Asia, where victims from multiple countries are held against their will and coerced into conducting investment scams, romance fraud and other online financial crimes.
The United Nations has warned that these operations have become a multibillion-dollar criminal enterprise, exploiting vulnerable job seekers through fake recruitment schemes and deceptive employment offers.
Sri Lankan authorities say public awareness is becoming one of the strongest tools in preventing citizens from falling prey to such networks.
A national commitment
Thuyacontha said Sri Lanka’s National Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force remains focused on strengthening prevention, protecting victims and improving investigations and prosecutions against traffickers.
The task force is also working to support survivors as they rebuild their lives after escaping exploitation.
Officials argue that successful anti-trafficking efforts require more than law enforcement alone.
Government agencies, civil society organisations, the private sector and the public all have a role to play in identifying victims, reporting suspicious activity and preventing vulnerable individuals from being targeted.
Beyond law enforcement
The Government stressed that combating trafficking is fundamentally about protecting human dignity.
Calling for greater collective action, Thuyacontha urged all sectors of society to work together to support survivors while dismantling the criminal networks that profit from human exploitation.
His message also serves as a reminder that victims should not automatically be viewed as offenders, particularly in cases involving online scams where coercion is often hidden from public view.
As trafficking methods continue to evolve alongside technology, authorities say responses must also adapt — combining stronger law enforcement with public education, international cooperation and victim-centred protection.
Observed annually on 30 July, the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons is intended to raise awareness of one of the world’s fastest-growing forms of organised crime and to reaffirm the global commitment to ending the exploitation of vulnerable people.
For Sri Lanka, this year’s message is clear: in an increasingly digital world, trafficking is no longer confined to hidden borders or remote locations — it can begin with nothing more than a fraudulent job advertisement and end inside a criminal enterprise operating thousands of miles away.
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