Social media and websites exploiting Ukrainian refugees
Attempts to recruit vulnerable Ukrainian refugees for sexual and labour exploitation via websites and social media have been discovered in a pan-European police hackathon with authorities from 14 countries participating.
“The monitoring activities led to the identification of new trends and gathered insights into the threat of sexual and labour exploitation of Ukrainian refugees. Suspicious activities were detected in a wide range of platforms, including in the Russian language”, Europol says in a statement.
“Many online marketplaces and websites appear to be taking significant steps to combat the misuse of their platforms for trafficking Ukrainian refugees. However, law enforcement officers found a significant number of suspicious job offers targeting Ukrainian women, some of which described as ‘photo shoots’. Investigators identified attempts to lure victims through offers of a ‘bright future’, which tricked them into sexual exploitation, or accommodation offers specifically targeted at Ukrainian refugees.”
The hackathon was organized from the Netherlands with investigators monitoring different online platforms to detect criminal networks.
It focused on monitoring posts offering help to refugees for transportation, accommodation and work. Dating sites and recruitment websites were monitored, as well as platforms offering sexual services. The countries bordering Ukraine focused on recruitment, transportation and accommodation of refugees, while others focused on platforms offering housing and jobs to refugees, Europol said.
“During the action day, investigators identified suspicious advertisements targeting Ukrainian refugees, looked into tips received from citizens, reviewed indicators of potential trafficking of human beings for sexual and labour exploitation and updated their situational awareness on existing online platforms linked to trafficking activities.”
Main figures:
- 125 online platforms monitored in total;
- 42 online platforms suspected for links to human trafficking checked;
- 6 online platforms linked to human trafficking checked;
- 9 suspected human traffickers identified;
- 9 possible victims identified;
- 15 new investigations initiated;
- Participating countries: Austria, Cyprus, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, United Kingdom.
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