Digital recruitment in human trafficking

Governments and anti‑trafficking agencies in Indonesia, Fiji and Malawi have warned that traffickers are increasingly exploiting digital platforms to recruit victims. In Indonesia, the Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection highlighted the use of social media, messaging apps and online job portals to lure individuals into sexual exploitation, forced labour and illegal internships, noting that digital tools now facilitate every stage of the crime. In Fiji, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Fiji Police Force pointed to low digital literacy as a barrier to recognising online risks and are working to raise awareness, improve reporting mechanisms and promote parental education. In Malawi, officials identified fake job ads, deceptive messages and AI‑generated scams as new lures targeting women and children, and announced soft‑loan programmes, skills training and counselling for at‑risk groups. Across all three countries, authorities stress the need for public vigilance, stronger community safeguards and enhanced digital‑literacy efforts to counter the growing digital dimension of human‑trafficking networks.