World Day Against Trafficking 2026: UN Warns Children Are Being Trapped Behind Online Scam Networks
As the world marks World Day Against Trafficking in Persons 2026, the United Nations is warning that children and young people are increasingly being targeted by traffickers through fake job offers and online deception.
This year’s theme, “Trapped Behind the Scam,” highlights a growing form of human trafficking in which organised criminal networks lure people with promises of employment abroad, only to force them into carrying out online scams under threats, violence and constant surveillance.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), many trafficked people are compelled to participate in romance scams, cryptocurrency fraud and other cyber-enabled crimes after being trapped in illegal scam compounds. Children and adolescents searching for work or better opportunities are particularly vulnerable to these deceptive recruitment tactics.
UNODC estimates that online scam operations in East and South-East Asia generated between US$18 billion and US$37 billion in financial losses in 2023, exposing the scale of trafficking-linked cybercrime.
The agency is urging governments to strengthen child protection systems, improve the identification of trafficking survivors, and enhance cross-border cooperation to dismantle organised criminal networks. It also supports legal reforms to address cybercrime, money laundering and trafficking for forced criminality.
The United Nations encourages families, schools and communities to educate children about online safety, suspicious job offers and trafficking risks. Parents and caregivers are also urged to maintain open conversations with children about safe internet use and migration.
The Blue Heart Campaign, the global symbol of solidarity with people affected by trafficking, calls on everyone to speak up, share awareness messages and help end human trafficking in all its forms.
No child should lose their freedom to exploitation hidden behind a scam.
