Duped, trafficked, and forced to scam — a cyber slavery survivor’s story

Thousands of people across Europe and the U.S. have been falling prey to cyber-scams. Lured in under the false pretenses of romance they are swindled out of thousands of dollars. But many of those doing the scamming are themselves victims of a type of human trafficking called cyber-slavery. The New York Times reports it’s not just scamming taking place at hidden compounds dotting the deep jungles of Asia. They are often staffed by trafficked workers who were promised a real job but now labor under the threat of severe beatings, electric shock and worse with little to no way to escape.  

Pig butchering on a fraud farm 

Cyber-scams can take many forms, but the most lucrative is pig butchering. With pig butchering, fraudsters gain their victim’s trust under the auspices of romance or friendship (the fattening of a hog). Then, once the victim trusts them enough, the scammer defrauds them (the slaughter) through fake investment schemes using seemingly legitimate apps.  

It takes time, but the payoffs can be big. In 2023, American’s alone lost $652 million. John Wojcik, regional analyst at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime stated: 

“Cyber-enabled fraud perpetrated by powerful transnational criminal networks has evolved into a thriving multibillion-dollar illicit industry that now exceeds the G.D.P. of several countries in Southeast Asia combined,” 

But with this type of scam, there are often two victims.

Jalil Muyeke from Uganda is among the hundreds of thousands of these lesser-known victims. But his traffickers didn’t use false romance to drain his bank account. Instead, Muyeke says he was kidnapped and lost seven months of his life, trapped in Myanmar and forced to scam others. For many, the stolen time and abuse goes on much longer.  

False promises, fake friends 

Muyeke was lured to Thailand by an old friend who promised he had found a job for him doing data entry and online marketing. With a baby on the way, the temptation was too great and Muyeke signed up. But almost as soon as he landed, he sensed something wasn’t quite right. Then, when he was forced on a canoe and taken illegally across the border into Myanmar, he knew we was in trouble.  

Muyeke was trapped in an old casino building with no idea where he was. The building was surrounded by armed men and Muyeke realized he had to do what was asked of him. If he didn’t, as one of the men put it “they will do bad things to you”. Working 17-hour shifts, seven days a week, with no release date in sight, Muyeke was destitute. 

Muyeke said:  

“Most of us were doing it because we just wanted to survive, we never really wanted to scam anyone. I looked at it as if I was in a prison. Let me do my time and let me get out of here.” 

The work took a toll on Muyeke, he started warning his victims about the scam, then quickly deleting the text before it was discovered. He was regularly disciplined for declining productivity with hundreds of push-ups, extra hours of work and intense runs around the parking lot.  

The whole operation, people and all, were eventually sold to another gang. The new owners fined workers for everything, including going to the washroom for more than five minutes. One Chinese teenage boy was tortured so badly, he came back to work without fingernails.  

Muyeke realized he had to get out and proposed a deal to his captors: If they let him go, he would take a sick Ugandan woman with him, relieving them of that burden. Miraculously, his captors agreed.

Muyeke is now home and recovering from his trauma. He sees a therapist to help him heal and is happy to be there for his son. But he knows for the captives he left behind, there is no way to escape. If they want to survive, they will have to continue scamming.