Emmanuel*, 27, from Liberia, is one of them. He traveled to Cambodia after being offered what he believed was a legitimate graphic design job. Instead, he says, he was driven to a compound in the jungle, his passport and phone were confiscated and he was ordered to defraud Americans and Europeans through online scams.
When he refused, he was threatened with the “dark room”, a punishment cell where workers were beaten and tortured. Armed guards surrounded the compound to prevent escape.
“There was no way out. I was cut off from the outside world,” he says. “I watched people being beaten so badly for not working.”…
