Online Fraud Is Becoming a Gateway to Human Trafficking in Cameroon

Cameroon: Online Fraud Is Becoming a Gateway to Human Trafficking in Cameroon Criminal networks exploit job seekers' aspirations, turning promises of employment abroad into schemes involving detention, extortion and forced recruitment. The discovery in September of 15 underage girls in a barricaded compound in Yaoundé's Essos neighbourhood, followed days later by 20 people (including two children) in a basement in Ngousso, has reignited concerns about human trafficking in Cameroon. The two mixed-use neighbourhoods in the capital's northeast are home to working- and middle-class residents. These are not isolated incidents. Reports from 2025 reveal that criminal networks have been exploiting desperate citizens in Yaoundé and the central Adamawa Region by luring them with false job promises. Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines In May this year, an operation in Dibombari in the Littoral Region led to the rescue of 17 youths recruited through fake job offers posted on digital platforms. The victims had paid an average of 550 000 CFA francs (US$942) in the hope of travelling to Malaysia, only to be held captive while awaiting departure. Four suspects were arrested. A few weeks later, the National Gendarmerie announced the dismantling of a vast network in Yaoundé operating under the guise of multi-level marketing on behalf of the businesses QNET, IGNITE and UNIMEC. QNET has denied any involvement, and the positions of the other two companies are not yet clear. An investigation launched on 16 May resulted in 13 arrests and the identification of around 6 000 victims of fraud and human trafficking nationwide, according to National Gendarmerie data given to the Institute for Security Studies (ISS). The criminal networks involve recruiters, intermediaries, logistics and accommodation providers, coordinators and masterminds - some operating from outside the country. The large scale of these illicit operations confirms the shift towards digitalisation, with networks no longer relying on in-person contact or local recruiters. Social media, digital platforms and fake job or training offers make it possible to quickly reach individuals seeking employment or opportunities abroad. Human trafficking facilitated by cybercrime is expanding globally. In Africa, cyber-recruiters have for years been exploiting the continent's growing connectivity. But in Cameroon, large-scale recruitment and fraudulent migration schemes via platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook are relatively new and increasing. In response, the Ministry of Public Service and Administrative Reform has issued official warnings about the threat. In the recently dismantled Yaoundé network, the primary targets were vulnerable youth, job seekers, students and those seeking to migrate, drawn by the prospect of lucrative employment or skills development abroad. Once recruited, they paid expensive fees and were then held in compounds - some for months - until authorities discovered the sites. Captors exerted constant psychological pressure on their victims, forcing them to extort money from their loved ones and recruit new targets online in order to secure their release. Some victims from southern Cameroon were transferred via Garoua in the North Region to Nigeria. Deprived of their travel documents, they were confined and forced to raise money from their families. The distinction between recruitment scams and the forced detention of victims is crucial. The Palermo Protocol against transnational organised crime defines human trafficking as recruitment or harbouring combined with deception, fraud, abuse of vulnerability or coercion, for the purpose of exploitation. In Cameroon, the initial scam does not involve human trafficking. It is the confiscation of documents, confinement, threats and coercion used to recruit others that mark the shift to trafficking. The National Gendarmerie data also reveals a transnational dimension. The network's ringleaders are allegedly based in Malaysia, with offshoots in West and Central Africa. Two people sought in connection with the investigation have been located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Central African Republic. Cameroon also serves as a destination for foreign victims, including Chadians recruited by networks operating in Yaoundé. In March 2025, police rescued 13 people held in a house in Yaoundé - seven from Madagascar, six from the DRC. The common factor across all these cases is the exploitation of economic and social vulnerability by criminal networks. In the QNET-IGNITE-UNIMEC case, the existence of multiple accommodation sites across different regions shows how criminal networks employ a web of clandestine houses or dormitories to isolate victims, confiscate their phones and keep them under constant surveillance. Recent interventions show that security forces are able to identify and dismantle some of the networks. However, the vast distances between recruitment and trafficking sites and the transnational nature of the criminal networks call for enhanced cooperation within Cameroon and between the countries involved. This should include intelligence sharing and the designation of dedicated contact points to centralise alerts, prevent administrative obstacles and enable immediate intervention. Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Cameroonian authorities also need to undertake rigorous monitoring and documentation of collective housing facilities, premises rented to groups, and informal shelters to identify suspicious gatherings before they become detention sites. The government should redouble efforts to establish formal protocols between digital platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp and the National Gendarmerie, enabling the rapid removal of fake job offers and the tracing of the accounts that disseminate them. These measures may seem obvious, but coordinating such efforts is rarely easy. Cameroon's ability to curb the expansion of this hybrid criminal phenomenon will depend on whether authorities have the political and budgetary will to act. For permission to re-publish ISS Today articles, please email us. In South Africa, News24 has exclusive rights to republish ISS Today articles. In Nigeria, Premium Times has exclusive rights to republish ISS Today articles. Aicha Pemboura, Researcher, Central Africa Observatory on Organised Crime and Violence, ISS Read the original article on ISS. Cameroon West Africa Legal Affairs Human Rights Central Africa AllAfrica publishes around 600 reports a day from more than 90 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. 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