Trapped Behind the Scam

Ministries confronting deceptive recruitment, forced cybercrime, cross-border trafficking — and the long path from rescue to restoration.

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The United Nations observes World Day Against Trafficking in Persons on July 30. Its 2026 theme, “Trapped Behind the Scam,” calls attention to people lured abroad by fraudulent job offers, confined in criminal compounds, and forced to carry out romance, cryptocurrency, and other online scams under threats and violence.

This week’s Ministries Making a Difference highlights ministries working at different points in that cycle — from prevention and interception to investigation, repatriation, and long-term recovery.

Photo, atlasfree.org

Atlas Free

Allan thought he found an overseas technology job that would help him provide for his wife and children in Uganda. Instead, traffickers transported him to a compound on the Thai-Myanmar border, confiscated his documents, and forced him to conduct online fraud for more than 12 hours a day. After a raid freed thousands, Atlas Free helped fund and coordinate the repatriation of Allan and 50 other Ugandan survivors through members of its international network. The survivors returned home to their families and received medical care and trauma-informed support.

Atlas Free has a 3-Star Financial Efficiency Rating, an A Transparency Grade, and a Donor Confidence Score of 100 in the MinistryWatch database.

Photo, a21.org

The A21 Campaign

Gawin taught himself English and computer skills in hopes of finding better work in or beyond Thailand. When he accepted what appeared to be a customer-service job for an online casino in a neighboring country, armed guards instead took him to a remote compound and forced him to scam people online.

Gawin escaped after a month but was still haunted by trauma. A21 helped identify him as a trafficking victim, provided legal and aftercare support, and prepared him to testify. Through the ministry’s Life Programs, he later opened a small electronics and vehicle-repair business.

A21 has an A Transparency Grade and a Donor Confidence Score of 72 in the MinistryWatch Database. It has not been rated for financial efficiency.

Photo, lovejustice.ngo

Love Justice International

Love Justice International places trained monitors at borders and transit hubs to identify trafficking. In February, traffickers deceptively recruited two people from Sierra Leone through social media with promises of overseas employment and told them to pay $1,200 for travel documents. They took the two to Liberia and forced them into domestic labor. A tip to a Love Justice officer led to their rescue and the arrest of eight suspected traffickers.

Love Justice International has a 1-Star Financial Efficiency Rating, an A Transparency Grade, and a Donor Confidence Score of 80 in the MinistryWatch database.

Trafficking survivor Luckas Viana dos Santos is reunited with his mother. Credit, fox2now.com

The Exodus Road

Online scam compounds create two sets of victims: the people defrauded and the trafficked workers forced to deceive them. The Exodus Road works with law enforcement through investigations, technology, covert evidence gathering, training, and survivor aftercare.

Last year, Exodus Road assisted Phelipe and Luckas, two trafficked Brazilians, with escape and repatriation. The men were lured to Myanmar by false job offers, then trafficked to a border compound and forced for three months to support “pig butchering” scams — online fraud schemes Interpol estimates have stolen more than $3 trillion worldwide.

Exodus Road also educates the public about deceptive online recruitment and the economic vulnerabilities traffickers exploit through fake employment opportunities.

Exodus Road has a 2-Star Financial Efficiency Rating in the MinistryWatch database, a C Transparency Grade, and a Donor Confidence Score of 55 (Exercise Caution).

Photo, refugeforwomen.org

Refuge for Women

A bed may provide immediate safety for a woman escaping trafficking, but lasting freedom requires much more. Refuge for Women’s latest report says that in 2025, the ministry provided 16,709 nights of safe housing and more than 9,000 supportive services to 124 women.

Through stabilization, long-term restoration and transitional housing, residents also receive counseling, life-skills training, employment support and continued accountability as they rebuild their lives.

Refuge for Women has a 1-Star Financial Efficiency Rating and an A Transparency Grade in the MinistryWatch database, and a Donor Confidence Score of 80 (Give with Confidence).

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