National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has raised the alarm over a dangerous new dimension of human trafficking involving ‘fraud factories’, warning that educated, tech-savvy young Nigerians are increasingly being lured and forced into online fraud operations globally.

The Director General of NAPTIP, Binta Bello, disclosed this yesterday in Abuja during a press briefing to mark the 2026 World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, themed “Trapped Behind the Scam.”

Bello stated that victims, mostly young graduates, are deceived with lucrative job offers in digital marketing, cryptocurrency trading, and customer service. However, upon arrival abroad, their passports are confiscated, and they are coerced under the threat of violence into running romance and investment scams targeting victims in the United States, United Kingdom, and other nations.

Explaining further, she said while these scams are predominantly in South-East Asia, particularly Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand, and Laos, similar operations are fast emerging in Nigeria and other African countries.

The DG stated: “For those (victims) who fail to meet targets, they are locked in solitary confinement, tortured, raped and even have their organs harvested and eventually die.”

Citing global figures, the NAPTIP boss revealed that over 300,000 people are trafficked into scam operations across South-East Asia yearly, generating an estimated 64 billion dollars in revenue.

The recruitment process has evolved into sophisticated stages involving social media adverts, digital grooming, and facilitation fees paid via cryptocurrency.

Locally, NAPTIP’s Cyber Response Team has disrupted several trafficking linked scam centres operating as “fraud academies,” where youths are trained in schemes known as “Yahoo Plus” for extortion and revenge pornography, the agency said.

Bello disclosed that over 300 Nigerian victims were rescued and repatriated from neighbouring countries in 2025, while 156 have been rescued since January 2026.

On enforcement, Bello noted that NAPTIP had secured 839 convictions since its inception, including 47 this year.

Speaking at the event, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Country Representative, Cheikh Toure, urged a shift in response that sees individuals forced into online scam operations as victims rather than solely as offenders.

Also speaking, the First Secretary of Migration at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Nigeria, Sib Siebesma, reiterated his country’s commitment to combating human trafficking.

He noted that the Netherlands actively funds several anti-trafficking initiatives in Nigeria, including the TIPVAP and STEAP projects.

“These programmes aim to strengthen Nigeria’s resilience to trafficking in persons and violence against persons,” Siebesma stated.