As Vietnam is one of the countries with the highest number of social media users, Caritas is trying to prevent further cases by offering guidance to young people in the dioceses.
By Kielce Gussie
Between 2008 and 2023, the number of victims of human trafficking globally more than quadrupled, jumping from 30,000 to almost 134,000, according to a report by Statista in June this year. The Vatican’s Fides news agency explained that one country where this drastic increase can be seen is Vietnam.
Nowadays, traffickers do not have to physically meet victims to lure and defraud them. Social media platforms have become a “fertile ground” for criminals. Online scams have caused many Vietnamese to relocate to neighboring countries like Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and China, causing a national crisis and serious social issues.
Protecting future generations
Sister Teresa Pham Ninh Khanh Hau, from the Diocesan Caritas of Hung Hoa, met with more than 100 teens to teach them to recognize scams and be aware of human trafficking. And in the Tien Non parish – an area of the country still dedicated to rice cultivation – an awareness of safe migration and human trafficking is limited due to a lack of access to information.
Caritas Hue in Vietnam is fighting back by offering guidance and reliable information through the Committee for the Prevention of Unsafe Migration and Human Trafficking, with a particular focus on combating the misinformation that is often found online.
Online scams have caused many Vietnamese to relocate to neighboring countries like Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and China.
According to the Ministry of Public Security, Vietnam recently investigated hundreds of cases of online scams that then led to human trafficking. A number of victims have been rescued and trafficking networks with national and international ties shut down.
Working towards a change
In 2024 alone, some 163 cases of human trafficking were discovered and investigated by law enforcement agencies, and in the first half of 2025, there have been 120 cases.
With 73% of the population on social media, Vietnam is one of the countries with the highest number of internet and social media users – more than 72 million people. Fides reports that 17% of users are between the ages of 13 and 24. Of Vietnam’s nearly 24.7 million children, almost 97% of them use the internet for about 5 to 7 hours each day.
Without guidance and trustworthy information, these teens and young adults will be susceptible to the growing danger of online scams and human trafficking in an ever-growing world of social media.
