The invisible victims: a blind spot in the prevention of financial crime

A change of route: when others choose the destination

Most people have probably received a call from a fraudster at least once. The caller on the other end of the line insists that your mobile phone contract has expired, reports alleged suspicious activity on your bank account, or even addresses you by name. Flustered, under pressure to act quickly and wanting to avoid the supposedly imminent consequences, we click on links sent via text message, download apps and lose our money.

According to figures from the Center of Excellence Anti-Money Laundering, in the first half of 2026 alone, people in Lithuania lost nearly 1.1 million euros as a result of telephone scams. When you see your bank account has been emptied, it is only natural to feel disappointment, frustration and anger – I’ve been scammed.

Let’s pause for a moment. Are we really sure who the culprit is?

Fraud call centres have become a global phenomenon in recent years. However, this well-organised criminal scheme does not rely solely on the latest technology – people are often drawn into it against their will.

According to Interpol, many of the people working in such centres were lured there under false pretences and are forced to commit crimes. Victims of human trafficking from nearly 80 countries across all continents have been deprived of their freedom and forced to commit fraud.

It is often the victim of human trafficking who becomes the voice we hear on the telephone. Thousands of children and young adults, as well as people facing social and economic challenges, are not only forced into fraud, but are also drawn into networks involved in the trafficking of narcotic and psychotropic substances, theft and other criminal activities.

In recent years, the world’s attention has been drawn to fraud centres operating in Myanmar, where people are lured by false promises of well-paid, skilled work. Upon arriving for a job interview, their documents are confiscated; they are abducted and forced to carry out financial crimes. With no other choice, they become part of a well-organised criminal scheme.

A look over the shoulder: who really profits from crime?

Financial crime prevention specialists very often draw on established typologies of financial crime in their work. By analysing recurring patterns of behaviour, the movement of financial flows between accounts and changes in the form of assets, it is possible to identify characteristics specific to particular types of crime – criteria for determining whether financial activity is suspicious.

Unfortunately, analysing complex cases often takes months, and sometimes even years, before the organisers of a criminal scheme are identified. Nor is it always possible to recover assets obtained by fraud. Nevertheless, the perpetrator is often known, but their motives are not necessarily clear.

The victim’s expectation is always to recover their lost property. It therefore goes without saying that, once the perpetrator has been identified, the investigation will focus on them. However, even once released from custody, this person may be afraid to speak about what they have been through. This complicates the investigation itself and the practical application of the ‘follow the money’ principle.

According to data from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, over the past six years the proportion of identified cases of victims of human trafficking who were forced to commit crimes has risen from 1 per cent to 8 per cent. However, an analysis of basic cash flows and operational patterns alone is not sufficient to identify such victims, and so the investigation may, at least for a time, be led in the wrong direction.

This is precisely the blind spot in crime prevention.

The blind spot will not disappear

Financial crimes are not victimless crimes, but it is not always possible to identify the victims straight away. In order to uncover the full extent of a criminal scheme, identify its organisers and all the victims, it is essential to have the combined efforts of professionals with expertise in financial crime, regardless of whether they work in the public or private sector. Operating within the limits of their respective roles, each of them sees only part of the whole picture. This means that there will always be a blind spot in the prevention of financial crime.

Nevertheless, the realisation that a blind spot exists – and what lies within it – is a crucial first step in the fight against both global fraud operations on an unprecedented scale and human trafficking networks. It encourages us to take a holistic view of these crimes – they may be interlinked, and so the response to them must be a joint one: sharing available information and analysing the situation more broadly and in greater depth. There is no other way forward.

So, no matter how alert and experienced a driver may be, they cannot see through the bodywork of their car. However, the knowledge that there is something they cannot see enables them to look over their shoulder in good time, slow down, assess their surroundings using multiple sources of information, and reach their destination safely.

Author of the commentary – Greta Barkauskienė, Expert at the Center of Excellence in Anti-Money Laundering