Young engineering graduate from Goa rescued after falling victim to foreign job scam involving Instagram and WhatsApp recruitment leading to forced labor in Myanmar

Summary

A young engineering graduate from Goa was rescued from Myanmar after falling victim to a foreign job scam. He had responded to a recruitment ad on Instagram in January 2025 for a call centre job in Thailand, which promised free accommodation, food, and a monthly salary of Rs 60,000. The recruitment process was conducted entirely online via WhatsApp, and the agent arranged his travel to Bangkok. Upon arrival in Thailand on January 14, he was moved to Myanmar via a river crossing and confined to a secured, heavily guarded compound. There, he was forced to work 14-hour shifts sending fraudulent messages to potential victims in the US, facilitating investment fraud and honey trapping. He was recently rescued by the Indian government and returned to Goa by the Goa police.