ASEAN Employers Seek Safer Migration Routes as Online Recruitment Fraud Raises Risks

The Forum called on ASEAN Member States to strengthen oversight of online recruitment and clarify the responsibilities of recruiters, digital platforms and social media companies.

For businesses across Southeast Asia, migrant workers help fill labour and skills gaps and keep regional supply chains running. For workers seeking employment abroad, a legitimate job offer and fair recruitment process are essential safeguards against fraud and exploitation.

Those shared concerns shaped the 19th ASEAN Forum on Migrant Labour, held in Manila on 14–15 October 2026 under the theme "Protection of Migrant Workers through Regular and Safe Migration Pathways." Governments, employers' and workers' organizations and other stakeholders agreed on 30 recommendations covering recruitment, digital risks and access to remedy.

Stronger Checks Could Make Online Recruitment Safer

Online platforms make it easier for employers and workers to connect across borders, but fraudulent advertisements, impersonation, deceptive offers and illegal recruitment can put both workers and legitimate businesses at risk.

The Forum called on ASEAN Member States to strengthen oversight of online recruitment and clarify the responsibilities of recruiters, digital platforms and social media companies. Participants also proposed guidelines for artificial intelligence in recruitment to address emerging risks.

Platforms and social media companies were encouraged to verify employer and recruiter identities and confirm that job advertisements are authorized. Those checks should extend to recruitment promoted through influencers, content creators, sub-agents and other intermediaries.

Siriwan Romchatthong, secretary general of the Employers' Confederation of Thailand, represented the ASEAN Confederation of Employers at the Forum. She said businesses need predictable, regular migration pathways that provide access to skills and give workers confidence that advertised jobs are genuine.

Stronger verification, she explained, can reduce exposure to fraudulent intermediaries and support fair competition among legitimate businesses.

Reliable Portals and Digital Skills Can Close Gaps

The recommendations include secure government-facilitated recruitment portals and regularly updated registers of licensed recruitment agencies. Participants also called for systems that allow authorities and other relevant actors in countries of origin and destination to verify employers, job orders and employment offers.

Clearer responsibilities throughout recruitment chains would help establish who is accountable at each stage. Practical guidance and opportunities to learn from other businesses would support implementation, including among small and medium-sized enterprises.

Digital literacy received particular attention because convincing-looking advertisements and messages can conceal recruitment scams. The Forum recommended greater public and private investment to help migrant workers, their families and employers recognize phishing, impersonation and deceptive job advertisements generated using AI.

Responsible recruitment is increasingly connected to responsible business conduct, human rights due diligence and trade. Better migration systems therefore matter for companies managing their supply chains as well as for the people seeking work within them.

Workers Need Practical Routes to Recover What They Lose

The recommendations extend beyond preventing recruitment abuse to helping workers who experience fraud, trafficking, forced labour and other forms of exploitation.

Participants called for safe complaints mechanisms, protection against retaliation, legal assistance, wage recovery and compensation. They also recommended better arrangements for workers to pursue claims across borders or after returning to their home countries, so that leaving the country of employment does not close off access to remedy.

For employers, effective remedy forms part of responsible business conduct and helps address risks across complex regional and global supply chains. Governments, employers' and workers' organizations, recruiters and digital platforms all have responsibilities in turning the recommendations into safer recruitment and more accessible support. Progress will be shared at the 20th ASEAN Forum on Migrant Labour in Singapore in 2027.