Maybe these people were probably offered a different job at first, but when they got to the actual work, it turned out to be a scam. They probably can’t leave anymore because there’s a big syndicate behind it. The pattern seems familiar, kind of like the scenario with POGO here in the Philippines.
It is crazy to think about it, that there are people who are forced to work for a syndicate and scam people online through cryptocurrencies, i don't know if these people knew about this job from the beginning or if they were coaxed into it with no way out for them. I think people who are forced into labor like this are usually desperate people, and it is easy for the bad guys to take advantage of desperation. I hope the law takes its full course on criminals like these and people should learn about these scam tricks and avoid falling for it.
Well that's it, like your opinion where most likely people like that are those who are in desperation in finding work, and this incident also happened in my country where not a few of my citizens were offered jobs that previously looked tempting but in the end it turned out to be nothing more than a trap, and usually this type of work requires them to migrate abroad with sweet promises such as big salaries but in the end when they are there they become slaves who are continuously told to work but do not get paid and this scenario happens for years because access to go home is limited by their employers, this is not much different from working for a syndicate to deceive others, but the difference is the risk is not involving other people as victims.