Key takeaways:

• • • Human trafficking is a financial crime — Without the financial system, human trafficking networks cannot operate at scale. Banks, compliance officers, money transmitters, and casinos are uniquely positioned to detect suspicious patterns.

    • The 2026 World Cup amplifies existing risks — With 5.5 million additional visitors expected in Mexico City alone, criminal networks will exploit the surge in cash flows, new customers, and cross-border movement.

    • Red flags are observable in financial behavior — Human trafficking networks often leave detectable financial footprints, which is why financial institutions must update monitoring systems and stay alert to unusual transaction spikes during the tournament.

MEXICO CITY — As the 2026 FIFA World Cup get ready to hold its tournament in June and July across three North American countries, anti-human trafficking experts are meeting as well and attempting to address the challenges facing the three host countries of the largest World Cup in history.

To that end, the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS), in partnership with ��������, organized one such event, focused on the scourge of human trafficking that often surrounds large sporting events like the World Cup.

One speaker at the event noted an important clarification in the difference between human trafficking and human smuggling — two terms that are frequently confused yet carry vastly different legal and humanitarian implications. The key distinction lies in consent and the nature of the crime. In human smuggling, the individual being transported across borders consents to the movement, typically driven by socioeconomic necessity, and the offense is considered a crime against the state. Human trafficking, by contrast, is a crime committed directly against the victim, often involving exploitation through force, coercion, threats, or deception, and does not require the crossing of any international border.

The ACAMS event challenged the common belief is that human trafficking is exclusively sexual in nature. In fact, there are 10 additional forms of exploitation beyond sexual abuse, including slavery, forced labor or services, use of minors in criminal activities, forced marriage, servitude, labor exploitation, forced begging, illegal adoption of minors, organ trafficking, and illicit biomedical experimentation on human beings.

As the World Cup approaches, financial institutions’ compliance teams must recognize that the same operational conditions that make major sporting events exciting are precisely the conditions that money launderers and traffickers seek to exploit.

Still, sexual exploitation remains the dominant form of human trafficking. Indeed, it is the second most lucrative illicit business in the world after drug trafficking, with every 15 minutes of sexual abuse of a trafficking victim generating approximately $30.

Of course, without clients, there is no demand, said one speaker from the ÁGAPE Foundation, an organization that works to raise awareness against gender-based violence and human trafficking.

Financial sector as a key line of defense

When identifying human trafficking, it’s wisest to examine it from a financial perspective to find important indicators, according to several speakers. Indeed, the financial sector plays a critical role given its capacity to detect suspicious accounts and payments, shell companies, cash movements, digital platforms, and commercial operations.

For example, when a customer opens an account or conducts a transaction, certain red flags can be visible, including whether the customer needs to consult notes to answer basic questions such as their address or occupation, or that their responses are not spontaneous or natural. Also, another indicator is if the customer’s profile is inconsistent with the type or volume of transactions being conducted.

For financial institutions, there are other patterns that have triggered alerts in illicit activity in the past, including near-immediate deposits and withdrawals with no clear justification for the cash flow, or multiple individuals registered at the same address or linked to the same account.

Similarly, another red flag would be if there’s a high number of accounts opened from the same state or municipality with similar patterns, particularly in areas identified as origin points for trafficking networks; or, payment of multiple short-term rentals or payments abroad to unverifiable recruiters or employment agencies.

Financial institutions should be on the lookout for companies that file no tax returns or invoice simulated transactions, or that use of front men to open accounts or conduct operations.

Also, new businesses whose declared activity does not correspond to their financial operations should be flagged, as well as any frequent, large-volume purchases of condoms, lingerie, or women’s clothing inconsistent with the declared business activity.

Indicators at the 2026 World Cup

In the context of major sporting events such as the World Cup, existing risks are significantly amplified, several speakers pointed out. Sexual tourism, including the commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents, is a known and serious threat. Indicators that are relevant not only for the financial and banking sectors, but also for the real estate, tourism, transportation, hospitality, and restaurant industries including unusual accommodation requests, such as deactivating security cameras, delivering keys through third parties, or inquiring about the presence of neighboring guests.

When identifying human trafficking, it’s wisest to examine it from a financial perspective to find important indicators, and the financial sector plays a critical role given its capacity to detect suspicious accounts.

These industries should also be on the lookout for any adult or group of adults traveling with an unusually large number of minors, or individuals who travel in silence and are accompanied by someone who appears to exercise visible control over them.

As the World Cup approaches, financial institutions’ compliance teams must recognize that the same operational conditions that make major sporting events exciting — high transaction volumes, new customers, cross-border flows, and institutional attention diverted toward the event itself — are precisely the conditions that money launderers and traffickers seek to exploit.

For these compliance teams, monitoring systems must be updated, know-your-customer processes must go beyond documentation and reflect a genuine understanding of the client’s activity and context, and on-site verification visits must be conducted by personnel who know exactly what they are looking for.

The financial sector does not need to become an investigative body; however, it does need to remain alert, informed, and willing to report. Indeed, this is exactly what the compliance function exists for, and in the context of human trafficking, the cost of silence is measured not in fines or reputational damage, but in human lives.

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Key insights:

• • • Sextortion has evolved into a global industry — This crime is being fueled by organized crime networks and human trafficking.

    • Victims exist on both sides— Often, vulnerable workers, who operate as forced labor in scam compounds abroad, are as much the victims as those people being scammed online and extorted for financial gain.

    • Digital literacy and cross-border cooperation are strong tools — Governments and law enforcement need to better educate the public about these scams and seek better collaboration to prevent exploitation and to dismantle organized crime networks.

A 17-year-old Michigan high school student after inadvertently sharing explicit photos with a Nigerian sextortion scammer after the scammer posed as a teenage girl on a fraudulent Instagram account. Also, a 16-year-old Kentucky high school student after he was blackmailed with an AI-generated nude image.

Sadly, these two families are victims of the more than 100,000 sextortion reports filed with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) since 2020, many now involving AI-generated imagery. These reports are part of the larger increase in , which typically targets males ages 14 to 17 and which has been on the rise since 2020. These tragic cases are part of a vast network of scams that stretches from the to criminal compounds in Asia and Africa.

Sextortion in the modern age

The FBI defines sextortion as a criminal act in which an offender blackmails a victim for payment under the threat of releasing sexually explicit material, such as a photo or video. The material may have been solicited through a romance scam or may be the product of generative AI (GenAI). Sextortion is the latest trend in a series of scams that generate billions of dollars for international criminal syndicates on the backs of forced labor in parts of the world with unstable governance and oversight. An average 800 CyberTipline reports submitted to NCMEC from 2022 to 2023 related to the sextortion of minors.

NCMEC notes that victims of sextortion scams to the CyberTipline and make use of the . Take It Down allows for anonymous requests to remove explicit images from participating platforms and social media companies. encourages changing passwords after scam activity and not responding to any requests for payment, even if threats are made.

Organized crime syndicates and cyber-scams

are the “definitive market leaders” in cyber-enabled fraud and online scams, which have been rapidly expanding since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the United Nations’ Office on Drugs and Crime. In areas of Asia with weak governance, scam centers and fraud gangs run sophisticated operations that often front as industrial parks or casinos and hotels. and coerced into defrauding other victims online. The trafficked individuals often are lured with false promises of high-paying jobs and the ability to maximize their language skills.

Broad enforcement efforts have been relatively ineffective as scamming operations simply move within the country or offshore.

Once there, victims are forced into labor to commit financial fraud usually by enticing smartphone users to invest in cryptocurrency scams or engaging in sextortion (which sometimes includes forced sex trafficking to produce sexual content). It is unclear if teenagers are being targeted explicitly or if they are inadvertently targeted through broader, population-wide cyber-scams.

The Myanmar town of Laukkaing (also spelled Laukkai), the capital city of the Kokang Self-Administered Zone is considered the engine-room of forced labor scamming. In Myanmar’s Kokang region, have turned from narcotics to online scamming, operating casinos, and scam compounds possibly because these crimes are more lucrative and easier to operate at scale.

In October 2023, a deadly crackdown at Myanmar’s Crouching Tiger Villa (referred to as the 1020 Incident) was the beginning of the crumbling of mafia-led control in Laukkaing. The Chinese government launched coordinated attacks, which resulted in . The leader of the Ming family (which operated Crouching Tiger Villa) took his own life after being captured, but of his extended family with ties to organized crime and illegal activities in Myanmar were sentenced in Chinese courts in September 2025, including 11 who were sentenced to death.

An estimated US $1.4 billion was generated by the Ming family over 10 years through telecommunications fraud, illegal casinos, drug trafficking, and prostitution.

Inside offshore scam compounds

Beyond Southeast Asia, forced-scam operations have grown rapidly across the Mekong region. The��, funded in part by ��������, notes their study of CyberTipline reports and IP addresses point to a strong presence of scam compounds in Myanmar and Cambodia.

The financial impact of scam compounds is no small factor — ruling elites in these countries have a financial motivation to look the other way because of its high profitability. The in Cambodia are more than US $12.5 billion annually, or about half of the country’s formal GDP. Across Mekong countries (China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam), cyber-scam returns generate an estimated US $43.8 billion annually.

The financial impact of scam compounds is no small factor — ruling elites in these countries have a financial motivation to look the other way because of its high profitability.

Broad enforcement efforts have been relatively ineffective as scamming operations simply move within the country or offshore, and there are reports that these complex money laundering operations help move funds into the formal economy of countries with weak governance.

Despite the challenges in enforcement, some high-profile enforcement cases have helped to generate international coordination against cyber-scams and sextortion. A California teen’s death by suicide resulting from sextortion led to three years later. Interpol’s (July and August 2025) resulted in 260 arrests and more than 1,200 electronic device seizures in 14 African countries. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) announced that as the main regional security concern last month. Domestically, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has issued sanctions on nine targets involved in scam operations in , and against (who is also associated with online scam centers).

Digital literacy as a solution

To truly begin to crack scam networks that operate in parts of the world with weak governance, of their citizens and support stronger cross-border investigation strategies. Stronger anti-money laundering frameworks can disrupt scam compounds more effectively than sting operations that just force the scam operation to move elsewhere.

It is critical that digital literacy is emphasized for online users who fall prey to sextortion and among job seekers lured into forced labor in scam compounds by fraudulent job advertisements. Cross-border collaboration among authorities, along with stronger enforcement and shared digital literacy, are the best defenses against this evolving threat.

You can find out more about our coverage of human trafficking, child exploitation, and forced labor at our Human Rights Crimes Resource Center here

Important highlights:

• • Technology-enhanced tools needed — Key recommendations in the fight against these disappearances include establishing a national database for Indigenous disappearances, using facial recognition technology to match missing persons with sex ads, and leveraging data analysis to identify patterns.

  • Disproportionate impact driven by systemic factors — Though Indigenous peoples are about 5% of Canada’s population, about half of women and girls trafficked are Indigenous.

  • Geographic patterns and cross‑border links — Urban hotspots show concentrated disappearances and trafficking activity, with evidence of connections between Canadian and US sex ads.

The crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada represents an urgent human rights concern, with Indigenous women disproportionately affected by violence and exploitation. This issue, often obscured by geographical and societal barriers, demands the attention and action of governments and law enforcement.

Research completed by �������� in late-July illuminates the alarming intersection between missing and murdered Indigenous women and human trafficking. These insights are captured in a report titled Missing and Stolen: Disappearance and Trafficking of Indigenous Peoples in Canada. Findings in the report shed light on the systemic factors that contribute to these tragedies, and the report offers actionable recommendations to address and prevent further injustices against potential victims in Canada.

Examining disappearances and trafficking activities

Missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls are overrepresented in cases of violence and trafficking, the report shows. Indigenous peoples (First Nations, Inuit, and Metis) comprise roughly 5% of Canada’s total population; but despite this low figure, the 2014 National Task Force on Sex Trafficking of Women and Girls in Canada found that 51% of women and 50% of girls .

Systemic factors also contribute to the crisis of these victims, including a history of sexual abuse. Other adverse childhood experiences such as are disproportionately prevalent among Indigenous communities in Canada. These previous childhood abuse experiences contribute to the heightened vulnerability to gender-based violence, sexual exploitation, and human trafficking into adulthood.

Further, these systemic issues are compounded by previous experience with the child welfare system, which continues to disrupt Indigenous family structures. Although represent only about 8% of the population under the age of 15, they accounted for nearly as of 2021. Research also shows that many survivors of sexual exploitation and trafficking have prior involvement with the .

Sex ads points to cross-border activity

By analyzing data from reported Indigenous disappearances and sex ads, the study identified urban areas as hotspots in which these issues are most prevalent. Notably, cities such as Vancouver, Edmonton, and the Windsor-Toronto-Ottawa corridor, emerge as key centers of disappearances and trafficking. Edmonton also is a point of interest because of its high Indigenous population but relatively remote nature in comparison to other hotspots.

Additionally, the study highlights the cross-border nature of trafficking, with connections between Canadian sex ads and those in the United States. This tracks with the general population demographics of Canada, in which much of the population lives within driving distance of the US border. However, when examining some of the ads in urban areas along the border, many involved cross-border connections.

Recommended actions

To address the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and human trafficking, several key actions are recommended for government agencies and law enforcement, including:

Consolidate reporting into a central repository — Establishing a national database for Indigenous disappearances is crucial for improving the speed and effectiveness of investigations.

Use advanced technology and data analysis — Likewise, using advanced technology to integrate and analyze data on missing and murdered Indigenous women and comparing that with sex ad data using facial recognition technology could help to quickly identify and locate missing individuals featured in sex ads. In addition, technology could be used in identifying potential victims in sex ads by homing in on specific terms that are used in ads, although this is tricky. Indeed, ads may falsely state ethnicity due to prejudices against Indigenous peoples, and some ads mislabel individuals to avoid devaluation or risk. At the same time, some ads used derogatory terms and specific tribal affiliations associated with the demand from sex buyers.

Put a face on the data — It is easy to see how the stories of these women and girls get lost as a data point. This is why it is important to amplify the stories of survivors and build awareness of the problem. Behind each data point is a person and family’s heartbreak, pain, and loss — those stories should be emphasized and disseminated.

Prioritize investigative resources in known epicenters and across borders — Investigations should focus on hotspots in which significant patterns of disappearances and sex trafficking have been identified.

Addressing the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and sex trafficking is of paramount importance. Policymakers, communities, and individuals must unite to support these recommend actions to help ensure that every effort is made to prevent future tragedies and uphold the rights and dignity of Indigenous peoples.

You can find more about the ongoing fight against sex trafficking here

Key takeaways:

• • • Legal promise, operational gaps — The biometric CURP could streamline identity verification in legal and notary contexts but lacks training programs and designated data capture sites.

    • Balancing security and civil liberties — While intended to help locate missing persons, the CURP raises concerns over government surveillance due to broad access by security agencies.

    • Digital readiness under scrutiny — Mexico currently lacks the systems and regulatory framework to securely manage biometric data, risking identity fraud and misuse if not properly addressed.

Last July, key reforms to Mexico’s General Population Law and the General Law on Forced Disappearance were approved, marking the beginning of a transformation in the way people are officially identified in the country.

With these reforms, the biometric Unique Population Registry Code (CURP) becomes an official identification document, which is now mandatory and available in both physical and digital formats that will integrate biometric information such as fingerprints, iris scans, and photographs.

The biometric CURP will be used mainly for identity validation on digital platforms, immigration procedures, access to health services, legal processes, and to support the search for missing persons. With little time left before its implementation, doubts linger regarding how this new system will be implemented and the impact it may have, especially in the judicial and notarial areas.

To provide a professional perspective on the possible impacts, José Raúl González Ramírez, Master in Notarial Law and aspirant assigned to Notary 1 in Cuernavaca, Morelos, shared his personal perspective on what this mandate will mean for Mexico and its citizens.

Challenges and benefits in the legal and notary fields

In Mexico, there is currently no single official identification document. In the legal and notary field, the passport and voter ID card are mainly used, as they are documents issued by federal institutions that generally use greater security measures. The biometric CURP could represent a solution to this lack of a single document, offering a more reliable tool to validate people’s identity.

However, key parts of the system are still lacking that could have significant consequences. For example, there is no implementation program to train notaries on this document; and while the College of Mexican Notaries is hoping to disseminate training mechanisms in the coming months, so many areas of the system remain undefined that training at this stage could prove difficult.

Further, no designated sites have been reported for the population to go for the official capture of the biometric data that is at the heart of the system’s methodology. Finally, no official date has been defined for the mandatory use of this new CURP.

Hope or surveillance?

The biometric CURP was approved with the main objective of strengthening the search, location, and identification of missing persons in Mexico. Not surprisingly, this has raised significant government surveillance issues. And while the access to CURP is stipulated to be exclusively for search purposes, access on a consultation basis will be allowed to prosecutors, investigative bodies, and the National Intelligence Center.

This measure has generated divided opinions among Mexicans. On one hand, there is fear that it could become a tool for government surveillance as the National Guard (GN) and the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC) can access individuals’ delicate information that will include bank and telecommunications data. On the other, it represents hope for thousands of families who have been searching for their loved ones in a country in which 42 people disappear daily on average according to the National Registry of Missing and Unlocated Persons (RNPDNO).

Master José Raúl says he considers the implementation is positive, since its initial purpose is the search for missing persons. The rest of the population’s concerns, in that sense, would be “collateral damage,” he adds.

“It is going to be an identification that, if done correctly and if the registration is adequate, will strengthen the notary’s ability to identify the person in front of them and avoid, as much as possible, a false declaration or impersonation at the moment of identification,” José Raúl explains.

Is Mexico ready?

One of the greatest challenges will be Mexico’s ability to securely store and manage the vast amount of confidential data required for the biometric CURP. According to José Raúl, the country currently lacks the necessary systems, infrastructure, and regulatory framework to handle this information effectively.

“If implemented correctly, this system could provide stronger safeguards against identity fraud,” he explains. “However, without a reliable database and proper data management, it could become a serious problem.”

In addition, there is uncertainty about how the data will be captured, with which population the process will begin (those over 18 years of age, or also minors), and how often the database should be cleaned. The population aged 0 to 18 poses a particularly complex challenge due to its size, which current resources and infrastructure are not equipped to handle effectively.

In the coming months, it will be crucial for the Mexican government to define the implementation mechanisms, the initial target population, and the data cleansing processes, as this will be one of the most important aspects for the success or failure of the biometric CURP.

The road ahead

Although a pilot program is currently underway in Mexico City, it is essential to establish a robust action plan for collecting population data. Likewise, a clear framework must be defined for the management, maintenance, and protection of this data, especially considering the sensitive nature of the information and the critical need to prevent misuse. Further, it is crucial to assess whether the government has the technological infrastructure required to securely store this data, or if investment in such storage capabilities will be necessary.

You can learn more about the challenges of identity verification here

Key highlights:

• • Human trafficking is a local problem — Contrary to the stranger danger myth, trafficking primarily involves emotional manipulation and targets vulnerable populations locally.

  • Prevention requires talking to men and boys — Discussions should be held about how online pornography, and the impact of their visits to strip clubs is furthering the sexual exploitation of women and indirectly fueling sex trafficking.

  • Human trafficking is a criminal enterprise — This enterprise is operating in the shadow economy, with profits that fuel the world’s second-largest illicit financial enterprise.

An estimated 50 million people are currently living in modern slavery globally, a stark reality often hidden in plain sight. Indeed, , established by the United Nations in 2013, serves as a crucial reminder that human trafficking remains one of the most pressing human rights challenges of our time.

A recent Thomson Reuters Institute webinar in observance of this day brought together experts from technology, survivor services, and law enforcement for a discussion to deepen the collective understanding of trafficking’s complexities, examine its devastating impacts on victims, and develop strategies to drive meaningful change.

Debunking myths around human trafficking

Human trafficking is often misunderstood, with common misconceptions including the stranger danger myth that most trafficking situations come from anonymous kidnappers. However, , CEO of , a nonprofit group helping law enforcement on the front lines of domestic minor sex trafficking, notes that trafficking often involves emotional manipulation by traffickers who target individuals from vulnerable populations, including youth without housing and children in foster care and juvenile justice systems.

, CEO of New Friends New Life, which provides comprehensive care to human trafficking victims, explains that between 95% and 97% of the survivors with whom she works are local. And, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), fraud and coercion are more prevalent than brute force in trafficking cases. In fact, traffickers frequently use and to exploit existing vulnerabilities.

Evolving approaches to combating trafficking

The fight against human trafficking requires a multi-faceted approach that involves cooperation of technology companies, survivor support organizations, and law enforcement agencies. More specifically, this approach can include:

Use and scale of technology — Boorse states that “technology has changed everything” in the anti-trafficking space and has made it easier for offenders to exploit victims. At the same time, technology is also providing opportunities for identifying survivors and offering support. Spotlight has developed innovative tools that help law enforcement and service providers identify trafficking situations and connect survivors with vital resources.

“Trying to identify a child victim in this mound of data is like trying to identify a needle in a haystack, but we aren’t looking for needles, we’re looking for children,” Boorse explains, adding that Spotlight leverages data and AI to help with the identification of some of the most vulnerable children. “We aim to reduce the time it takes to identify a victim from months to minutes. The speed of identification has a direct relationship to recovery and reduces the amount of time a victim remains in trauma.” With the help of technology, Spotlight has helped investigators identify more than 26,000 children.

Holistic approaches to support survivors — Comprehensive survivor support and compassionate care are key parts of the equation when stopping human trafficking. A model to mirror is the one used by New Friends New Life, which provides a range of services, including housing partnerships, emotional trauma support, and economic empowerment through job training and education. Davis emphasizes that rebuilding trust is crucial, and “the whole bunch of love approach” is essential in supporting survivors.

Collaboration with law enforcement and survivor care providers — The protracted nature of prosecuting human trafficking cases makes cooperation between law enforcement and those nonprofits which support survivors critical. Indeed, there often is a 24- to 36-month time span before the trial starts or the trafficker is convicted through a plea deal. This is a long time to keep a victim engaged, and this lengthy timeline can strain that engagement, especially given the trauma and instability survivors often face.

Because of this challenge, law enforcement relies heavily on robust partnerships with service organizations. The hyper-focus on the welfare and the well-being of the victim is key so that law enforcement can then focus on working with the prosecutors on the case.

In addition, collaboration on expanding awareness of traffickers’ recruitment methods in digital spaces is essential. And another key challenge lies in public awareness around the shifting landscape of trafficking online. More awareness and education in our schools and within our own homes are needed, primarily about how offenders use social media and other online platforms to identify and get their foothold on potential victims. Sadly, most minor victims — disproportionately over 95% — are recruited on Instagram, according to DHS.

Addressing root causes is key to prevention

Of course, the best way to prevent sex trafficking is to stop it before it starts, and effective prevention demands a multi-faceted approach starting with early intervention and addressing both vulnerabilities and demand. For example:

Give vulnerable minors love and acceptance — Boorse emphasized the importance of “looking back at the family unit,” noting that “one of the most critical pieces is… this feeling of being loved and accepted, obviously with appropriate boundaries.” She argued that fortifying family and community relationships from early childhood onward can help build emotional resilience and provide children with the strong foundation they need to resist exploitation.

Addressing demand is equally vital — Human trafficking is the second largest and fastest growing criminal enterprise in the world, which means it is a business. “If we are ever going to end this issue, we have to address the demand — and that means talking to our men,” Davis states. More specifically, there is a strong need to educate men and boys about the impact of seemingly “normalized” behaviors, such as consuming sexually exploitative online pornography or visiting strip clubs because “these normalized behaviors fuel a criminal industry,” she adds.

Everyone has a role to play

Combating human trafficking is a collective responsibility that requires education and action from many sectors of society. Everyone has the opportunity to educate themselves and support organizations like Spotlight, New Friends New Life, and the . In addition, reporting suspicious activity to the DHS tip line (1-866-DHS-2-ICE (1-866-347-2423) or the at 1-888-373-7888, as well as advocating for meaningful policy changes in local communities are other ways to help.

Only through shared commitment and action, can we build a world in which exploitation no longer has a foothold and all people can be free from the devastating exploitation of human trafficking.

Learn more about human trafficking and human rights crimes through the Thomson Reuters Institute resource center.

Key Insights:

• • • Regional collaboration and international partnerships are essential for combating transnational human trafficking, with Nigeria’s cooperation with neighboring countries and support from organizations like ICMPD are vital for cross-border intelligence sharing and victim protection.

    • A multidisciplinary approach to combatting human trafficking, like the one in Nigeria, results in the best approach for measurable success.

    • Prevention through education is crucial, as demonstrated by targeted school programs like STEAP that reach approximately 100,000 students across five Nigerian states to build awareness and resilience among vulnerable youth before exploitation occurs.

Human trafficking, along with many other cross-border crimes, is a highly complex issue, and it has been one of the fastest-growing, more lucrative shadow industries globally for trafficking syndicates. Owing to its multi-issue dimensions, human trafficking is a challenge to tackle head-on, but the Nigerian government has been showing success in numbers.

Since 2003, at least 25,550 victims of human trafficking and more than 2,050 survivors of violence have been rescued by Nigeria’s . The agency also secured a total of 755 convictions, highlighting its commitment to protecting vulnerable populations in the country and holding perpetrators accountable, including those acting across borders. Last year alone, NAPTIP investigated 698 cases, including 333 related to sex trafficking and 172 to labor trafficking.

Beyond what these numbers show, NAPTIP has become a model in Africa as a one-stop agency for all issues of human trafficking — ranging from case investigation, prosecuting offenders, raising awareness on the risks, and providing protection and assistance to victims and survivors. To date, NAPTIP has also been operating 14 shelters across its 34 regional offices across Nigeria, providing safe havens and comprehensive support services to 1,587 victims in the last year alone.

Multidisciplinary agency in Nigeria key for success

Nigeria signed the United Nations’ Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and the Palermo Protocol in 2000. In 2003, its Parliament enacted the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Law Enforcement and Administration Act (TIPPLEA), and NAPTIP was concurrently born.

As a multidisciplinary agency, NAPTIP works closely with other law enforcement agencies, as well as judiciary, civil society, and international partners to disrupt trafficking networks. Through legal reforms, victim support, increased enforcement, and grassroots-level advocacy, NAPTIP has focused on taking down trafficking networks that target vulnerable populations, especially children and youth.

Join us for a free online Webinar: World Day Against Trafficking in Persons to learn more about the complexities of human trafficking, the impact on victims, and effective strategies for prevention and intervention

In 2015 the TIPPLEA was re-configured into the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act (TIPPEA) to tackle newly emerging trafficking trends, strengthen the law by removing the option for trafficking offenders to pay fines, and provide a benchmark for sentencing offenders via other laws. Since then, the , an international research and policy institute, has been a key supporter of NAPTIP’s operations with a focus on prevention, protection, and capacity development. Through its implementing role of European Union-funded project of the , ICMPD has been collaborating with NAPTIP and other in-country partners to:

• • • integrate human trafficking issues into the curricula of Basic and Senior Secondary Schools, as well as into the minimum standards of Colleges of Education in the country;
    • develop teacher’s guides and provide training of trainers for Colleges of Education; and
    • produce training curriculum for NAPTIP personnel and training manuals for the agency’s trainers.

By 2020, the partnership expanded across Nigeria’s neighbors in the region. Through a bilateral accord, NAPTIP collaborated with its Niger counterpart to deal with trafficking through joint operations, including public awareness campaigns and exchange of intelligence. With ICMPD’s support, this partnership has been providing support to victims of human trafficking in-country, and for the return of rescued Nigerian victims from its northern neighbor.

“ICMPD has been an ally in our counter-trafficking engagements in Nigeria,” says . “They have supported us in developing policy documents, in deepening our awareness-raising (especially in schools), and in various activities to protect and assist victims and survivors of trafficking. Above all, we are enjoying a lot of collaboration with some of our neighboring West African countries through their support.”

Awareness, education & collaboration with neighbors helps prevention

As in many other trans-national crimes, human trafficking preys on the vulnerable, especially on young people. Hence, one of the flagship projects of ICMPD’s support to NAPTIP is the , funded by the Government of the Netherlands. It raises awareness among school-age children and their communities and fosters collaboration with civil society organizations to equip the students in recognizing the risks of trafficking. It also helps them avoid such risks, promote safe behaviors, and create a protective environment that reduces their own vulnerabilities before exploitation can occur.

Part of this is the joint ICMPD-NAPTIP Vanguards in 250 schools across the five Nigerian states of Benue, Delta, Edo, Enugu, and Ogun, targeting approximately 100,000 students. In addition to STEAP activities, the Vanguard enables them to become peer educators, helping them become better informed, more vigilant, and resilient advocates in preventing trafficking in their schools and communities.

Beyond STEAP, the Nigerian government works more broadly on anti-trafficking efforts through the . Also funded by the Dutch Government and implemented by ICMPD, TIPVAP looks to address human trafficking by upscaling capacity of the investigators and prosecutors, establishing effective victim referral systems, and raising public awareness. The initiative also improves the investigation and prosecution of cases, and ensures victims receive timely, coordinated support including legal aid and protection services — and its community outreach enjoins communities to recognize and report these crimes.

“Addressing the diverse social, economic, and legal factors that drive human trafficking particularly by reaching children and youth, who are among the most vulnerable is a key pillar of our collaboration with NAPTIP in Nigeria and across the wider West African region,” says a spokesperson for STEAP at ICMPD. “By supporting NAPTIP’s efforts, ICMPD is able to apply its technical expertise and unique perspective on migration to meaningful, practical work. We remain firmly committed to partnering with the Nigerian government in this vital endeavor.”

Given its strategic location in the West African region, Nigeria is well-positioned to foster cross-border cooperation and intelligence sharing, while harmonizing victim-protection legal frameworks to keep people safe from trafficking. As it continues to implement its National Action Plan on Human Trafficking, the joint efforts of NAPTIP and ICMPD remain crucial in addressing the evolving challenges of human trafficking and ensuring the protection of vulnerable populations.

You can learn about more ways to combat human trafficking successfully��here

In the United Kingdom, for example, the Revenge Porn Helpline in reports in 2023, compared to the previous year. Sextortion remained the predominant concern and made up more than one-third (34%) of all cases. The data reveals that overall, there was a 54% increase in sextortion cases compared to 2022, highlighting a concerning pattern that hasn’t been seen since 2021.

In the United States, the data is a little dated but double-digit increases too are suggested. In 2016, , reported being victims of nonconsensual pornography. A larger , showing — all in the space of just three years.

Given the rise in the use of generative AI to create deep fakes, it is easy to surmise that cases of IBSA will continue to be on the rise for some time.

Improvements in legal landscape on the horizon in the US

Obtaining justice for victims of IBSA around the world is no easy task. Only about a concerning IBSA as of 2018. In addition, prosecuting offenders in the US up until now has been a patchwork of local and state laws. Indeed, 48 states plus the District of Columbia and Guam .

The good news is that change is on the horizon with the bill known as the or the TAKE IT DOWN Act that was passed on April 28 and signed into law in late May.

The new law prohibits the intentional disclosure of nonconsensual intimate visual depictions, including digital forgeries. It amends Section 223 of the Communications Act of 1934 to criminalize the publication of such depictions without consent, especially if the images are intended to harm or result in harm, including psychological, financial, or reputational damage.

Join us for a free online Webinar: World Day Against Trafficking in Persons to learn more about the complexities of human trafficking, the impact on victims, and effective strategies for prevention and intervention

The Act also defines key terms, such as identifiable individual, and intimate visual depiction, which are important concepts to enforce the bill. For example, an identifiable individual is someone who appears, in whole or in part, in an intimate visual depiction and whose face, likeness, or other distinguishing characteristic (such as a unique birthmark or recognizable feature) is displayed in connection with such depiction. And an intimate visual depiction carries the meaning given in section 1309 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, which includes visual representations involving nudity or sexually explicit conduct.

In addition, the bill establishes penalties for offenses involving both adults and minors. For adults, violations can result in fines or imprisonment of up to two years; while for minors, the penalties increase to fines or imprisonment of up to three years. Exceptions to the prohibition include lawful activities by law enforcement and disclosures made in good faith for legitimate purposes such as legal, medical, or educational needs.

The Act also mandates covered platforms, including websites, services, or applications serving the public with user-generated content, to establish a notice and removal process for nonconsensual depictions. Platforms must remove such content within 48 hours of a valid request and are protected from liability for good faith removal actions. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is empowered to enforce compliance, treating violations as unfair or deceptive acts.

More action to protect potential victims needed

Research into the negative impacts of victims is significant. Among IBSA victims, 93% experienced considerable emotional distress, and 82% faced substantial challenges in social, work, or other vital aspects of their lives, according to the . Meanwhile, just more than half (51%) of victims revealed they had contemplated suicide. Additionally, 55% were concerned about their professional reputation being damaged due to IBSA, and 39% reported that it had negatively impacted their career.

These negative implications point to the need for additional measures beyond legal avenues to safeguard potential victims. One area in which there is a large need is building awareness among adults under 40, which of IBSA cases. This is especially true because people in this age range have .

Likewise, increasing education for caregivers and parents in order to better prevent their children from becoming victims is also critical. Resources such as ��������’ Safe Settings campaign and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s are great examples of awareness-building campaigns.

In particular, caregivers should protect their children by teaching them about the risks of sharing personal or inappropriate content online and the lasting nature of digital information. They should also guide them on how to set up privacy controls on mobile apps, recognize online predators, and find trusted adults for support. Parents should also stress the consequences of sexting and cyberbullying and emphasize that sharing sexual abuse material is illegal.

The TAKE IT DOWN Act represents a significant step forward in the fight against IBSA and digital exploitation, offering new legal avenues to protect victims and hold offenders accountable. However, legal measures alone are not enough, and continued efforts in education and awareness are essential to prevent future occurrences, empower potential victims, and foster a safer online environment for everyone.

You can find out more about the ways to strengthen online privacy rights here

Forced labor / supply chains — Supply chains, often sprawling and intricate, can sometimes mask the tragic reality of forced labor. This section of the Resource Center is designed to equip professionals with the knowledge they will need to ensure their organizations’ supply chains are transparent and ethical, thereby safeguarding those organizations from potential legal and reputational damages.

Sex trafficking — Sex trafficking remains a pervasive issue that demands urgent attention. This section of the Resource Center offers comprehensive guidelines and case studies to help professionals recognize signs of trafficking and implement effective interventions. By understanding the intricacies of this terrible crime, organizations can play a pivotal role in disrupting these illegal networks and protecting vulnerable populations.

Child exploitation — Addressing child exploitation is a moral imperative. This section provides a deep dive into the various forms of exploitation that many children face globally. It offers tools and best practices for compliance professionals to ensure that their organizations are not inadvertently contributing to these heinous acts.

Anti-Human trafficking toolkits — To aid in the fight against human trafficking, the center has refreshed robust toolkits, which were originally created by the City of Houston. These toolkits provide practical tools and tactics along with collaborative approaches that organizations can adopt to better spur effective private-public partnerships. These toolkits are designed to empower professionals with the necessary resources to implement effective anti-trafficking measures.

The Thomson Reuters Institute’s Human Rights Crimes Resource Center seeks to provide targeted resources and tools to empower risk and compliance professionals to uphold ethical standards and protect human dignity across the globe.

You can visit the Thomson Reuters Institute’s new Human Rights Crimes Resource Center here.

Unfortunately, human trafficking is also not simply a human rights crime, it is also a financial crime that undermines economies and national security. It touches upon various sectors, from transportation to hospitality and into finance and maritime operations. After drugs and arms trafficking, forced labor is the world’s third-most lucrative criminal activity, generating an estimated $150 billion of illicit revenue annually in the private and shadow economies throughout the world.

Indeed, the backbone of human trafficking is the generation of illicit proceeds and the resulting money-laundering activities to disguise, move, and conceal the illegal profits, all being conducted on a massive global scale. To even start to combat this problem, financial institutions need to be better trained, armed, and empowered to deny traffickers access to legitimate financial systems around the world.

Almost 50 million people are currently living under human trafficking conditions, a form of modern slavery that includes forced labor, forced marriages, and sexual exploitation.

As criminal enterprises that include human trafficking evolve and adapt to changing circumstances, unsuspecting sectors find themselves entangled in its criminality, including an unlikely player: the insurance industry.

To delve further into this, the Thomson Reuters Institute has published a new Special Report, Beyond policies: The hidden linkages of human trafficking and the insurance sector, that describes the complex intersection between human trafficking and the insurance industry, providing insight into the evolving tactics of traffickers and the ways in which the insurance industry has become an unwilling part of human trafficking operations.

Disrupting human trafficking networks

As mentioned, more awareness and training in the financial industry is critical to disrupt the channels of human trafficking. For example, there was filed by financial institutions relating to human trafficking between 2021 and 2022, according to the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) — and that follows a 32% increase between 2020 and 2021.

FinCEN also has provided supplemental advisory information on identifying and reporting human trafficking and related activity. In its 2020 guidance, for example, FinCEN provided insight on new typologies of human trafficking and shared red-flag indicators of human trafficking activity.

As the Special Report explains, the diversity of the insurance industry and the many types of policies which often involves large sums of money and sudden transactions can make it harder for law enforcement to spot unusual activity related to human trafficking. The Report also demonstrates how the insurance industry has a key role to play in evolving the prevention, protection, and prosecution involved with human trafficking, and better help track and stop the flow of money that is funding these traffickers.

To download a copy of the new �������� Special Report, “Beyond policies: The hidden linkages of human trafficking and the insurance sector”, please fill out the form below:

In total, crypto worth more than $90 million flowed into the account between January 2021 and November 2022, and at least $9.1 million came from a crypto wallet that US blockchain analysis firm TRM Labs said was linked to pig-butchering scams. Two other major crypto-tracking firms also said the account received funds linked to such scams.

The crypto account registered to Wang was held at , according to three blockchain analysis firms.

Wang didn’t respond to detailed questions for this article. Neither did the Thai government or the Thai police. Such pig-butchering scams — so called because the unsuspecting victim of the scam (the pig) is tricked by scammers into forking over money for a promised big return — have drawn intensifying scrutiny from global law enforcement over the past year, but little is publicly known about the people behind them. Crypto-fraud scams such as pig butchering have emerged as a multibillion-dollar criminal specialty that has entrapped victims around the world. The true scale of the losses is unknown because victims are often too embarrassed to report crimes to authorities.

In April, the U.S. Department of Justice said it seized about $112 million worth of crypto linked to��, without identifying suspects. A warrant that resulted in the seizure of more than half that amount registered in Thailand.

Absolute devastation

Erin West, a California prosecutor specializing in cybercrime, said many victims in the hundreds of pig-butchering cases she has handled since early 2022 have lost more than $1 million. Many are never able to recover their money.

Pig-butchering scams originated in China, financial crime specialists say. Many are now run by criminal organizations out of Southeast Asia that use to contact individuals around the world, the U.S. Treasury said in September. Cases are difficult to prosecute. Perpetrators are typically “ruthless transnational organized crime syndicates” that thrive on corruption, said Jeremy Douglas, regional representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

Several scams connected to deposits made into the account in Wang’s name were run from an industrial park on the Myanmar-Thai border, one of the blockchain analysis firms said. Workers are trafficked to the area, known as KK Park, by gangs that force them to con people online, according to two former workers and groups that support workers or scam victims.

Binance publicly said it assisted Thai police with a probe into “a significant pig butchering scam,” and that about $277 million of assets were confiscated.

Complex layering scheme

In 2022, the volume of crypto reaching the account in Wang’s name mushroomed to almost $79 million, a near six-fold increase on the previous year.

Coinfirm, the blockchain analysis firm that reviewed the transaction records for a Reuters investigation, said deposits from funds linked to pig-butchering scams it previously investigated began entering the account as early as February 2022. Stolen crypto was moved to the account via a “complex layering scheme,” involving multiple different wallets, Coinfirm’s then-head of fraud investigations Roman Bieda told Reuters in May. The crypto moved between “dozens” of wallets and was mixed with funds from other sources, he said.

Some $9.1 million flowed to the account registered in Wang’s name from the wallet linked by TRM Labs to pig-butchering scams. The funds were moved in more than 50 transactions between August and October 2022.

Coinfirm linked the funds to pig-butchering scams based on information gathered from multiple victims and from publicly available information, Bieda said.

Coinfirm also said it identified funds originating from four pig-butchering scams. One involved a website called bigoneit.site, which channeled some of the funds that a California man had invested in the scam into the Wang-registered account. The site was a fake version of a legitimate crypto exchange called BigONE.

The genuine crypto-exchange BigONE said it takes fraudulent websites seriously, and that it had received at least 10 reports of such sites. “We always emphasize in any promotional material that only big.one and bigone.com are official domains,” a spokesperson for the Seychelles-registered company said.

Nearly all of the crypto deposited in the Wang-registered account was moved to other wallets. Between January 2021 and October 2022, about $87.5 million was transferred to almost 50 other crypto wallets, including at least five registered at regionally based crypto exchanges, Coinfirm said.

The account goes dark

On Nov. 3, 2022, activity in the crypto account registered to Wang abruptly stopped, the financial records show. The pattern of transfers to the account suggests Binance may have started an investigation and suspended the account, Coinfirm said.

Any financial firm should carry out additional checks on clients whose accounts process large amounts of money, said Ross Delston, a former US banking regulator and expert witness on anti-money laundering issues. Red flags likely to trigger checks on the source of funds include a high volume of transactions and frequent deposits of round-numbered figures, Delston said.

The account registered to Wang frequently received such deposits, according to the financial records.

This story is a shorter version of a Special Report published by our colleagues at Reuters. Additional reporting was done by Chen Lin in Singapore, Carlos Barria in San Francisco, the Reuters Sydney bureau, and the Reuters Beijing bureau.