Other posts list up to 150 potential calls per day. “Filters may be used, but ensure the image is realistic. Live-action videos are permitted; wigs are prohibited,” another ad reads. For the privilege, the person would allegedly get one full day and four half days off per month. Yet another ad lists working hours as between 10 pm and 10 am in Cambodia and a preference that the person will have a “Western accent.” One model-job ad says: “The company will retain your passport for visa and work permit management.” Taking people’s passports is one of the primary ways scam compound operators hold people captive.
While a few men apply for the AI model roles, the vast majority of applications viewed by WIRED were from young women, mostly in their early twenties. Applicants are asked to send a short video introducing themselves, text about their experience and expectations and photographs of themselves; some are required to include their marital status and “vaccination” status.
“For over three years, I have worked with Chinese companies for different kinds of projects including stock market, cryptocurrency, and love story,” one person says in a recruitment video. Another says: “Based on my experience, I am good handling customer, I persuade them to invest by using my own techniques and discussing how gold trading benefits them.”
The video applications do not contain full names or contact details, so WIRED was unable to contact those applying for roles.
Modeling applicants have requested salaries of up to $7,000 per month, according to Humanity Research Consultancy. They also make specific requests about their working conditions, many of which may not be afforded to people who have been trafficked into the scam operations. One woman requested her own room and that she “can go outside.” Another requested that they could “go home on day off” and have a “personal washing machine.”
Although some of the models are recruited to work in the roles and may get more freedoms than victims of human trafficking, says Ling Li, the cofounder of the nonprofit EOS collective which works with victims of the scam industry, they may still face harsh treatment from bosses. “One European victim told us that he saw some Italian models in his compound, but he cannot tell [if] they are [there] willingly or not because they were beaten in front of him,” she says. “And also there is some sexual harassment.”
WIRED sent Telegram a list of two dozen jobs channels and recruitment channels that have advertised AI models, alongside other roles, in recent months. The company did not appear to remove any of the channels; however, a spokesperson says its policies do not allow scamming-related activity to take place.
“Content that encourages or enables scams is explicitly forbidden by Telegram’s terms of service and is removed whenever discovered,” a spokesperson for Telegram says. “In cases such as this, there are legitimate reasons one might give their likeness, and so such content must be examined on a case-by-case basis.”
The vast majority of the model-job ads and applications on Telegram don’t specifically mention scamming work, but they include a host of red flags indicating scamming, Ngo says. “Why [do you] need AI model? That’s the first question,” Ngo says. Other warning signs include the locations being in known scamming sites in Cambodia, claims of high salaries for the region, and frequent requirements for Chinese language skills, Ngo says.
