How Often Is Bitcoin Used for Human Trafficking?

Internet and cryptocurrency ventures have majorly changed the pattern of criminal occurrences. Human trafficking on Bitcoin is a worrisome aspect. So, is this currency really contributing to crime?

Forced human and sex trafficking is a billion-dollar industry worldwide. Even before the internet was popular and easily accessible, the market was booming with tremendously clever criminals. The introduction of cryptocurrency has further fueled this crime. 

Why Is Bitcoin a Hub for Human Trafficking?

Bitcoin users are mostly ordinary people like all of us. This cryptocurrency isn't regulated under the law of any country, region, or organization whatsoever. Law enforcement personnel excessively shed light on the criminal activity that this online currency facilitates.

Unfortunately, there's really no specific authority to complain to. Bitcoin is entirely independent and can be used for anything, from charity to forced labor. Since this currency exists virtually, it's often difficult for the police, intelligence, and law agencies to track its existence and transactions. 

Bitcoin is also mostly anonymous and has international users that have vowed for secrecy. Most of the dealings on this currency are usually done on the hidden, messed up corners of the web. The problem here is that the internet is just as uncontrolled as the currency.

It has no possible end; there are only corners of the internet that you may stumble upon and discover something new each time. For human traffickers, this anonymity works for their advantage. Simply put, these are unidentifiable crypto sales on an internet that has no virtual end destination. All of this is enough for traffickers to conduct labor and sex trafficking without much fear.

Backpage.com and Bitcoin

In case you're writing human trafficking essays about bitcoin, you need to know about backpage.com as well. It's one of the largest online ad forums on the internet. It also has a history of assisting criminal activity through its website. Backpage has often been under scrutiny for possibly advertising exploited children and people who are forced into trafficking. 

The services on Backpage are sometimes voluntary and often forced. The ads posted here are usually quite ambiguous and give away little information about the background scenario.

Another reason why Backpage is so popular with human traffickers is that it only accepts bitcoin sales. Previously, Backpage took advertisements in change for online cash deposits. Afterward, the site went free of cost for a while. It then shifted to crypto deposits and has no other payment method available. 

In other words, the shift towards secret, untraceable dealings has made crimes such as money laundering and human trafficking relatively easy. This kind of trafficking includes crimes such as prostitution, labor, sex trafficking makes up a sizeable portion of all the payments.

After Backpage chose cryptocurrency as its sole payment option, the payments for trafficking became a bit more complicated. Some traffickers often pay users to post ads on their behalf. This way, the transaction remains entirely unnamed, and the leading criminals usually manage to stay out of the picture.

In many cases, the transaction has to be distributed to different accounts or across different states. The criminals have to create a chain of multiple bank accounts. These accounts carry out deposits and transfers in a quick and unsuspecting manner. In short, human traffickers do use bitcoin as their primary asset.

Then, they use numerous bank transactions to further complicate their tracing. This makes it difficult for police to recover the victims of human trafficking. Since the dealings are so shady and scattered, it's challenging to track clients who respond to the trafficking ads. It's an even difficult task to catch the masterminds, the traffickers who have conducted this entire scheme.

How Can We Curb Human Trafficking Through Bitcoin?

Similar to every other technological advancement, cryptocurrency and the internet have had unprecedented consequences on the global criminal structure. Researchers, intelligence officers, and AI experts have shed light on how easily things can escalate in these trafficking rings.

The cultural lag and absence of digital literacy have hindered the establishment of an effective justice system. However, law books and cybercrime experts are also progressing by leaps and bounds. Currently, AI techniques such as Stylometry and Blockchain are employed in tracking Bitcoin payments that associate with trafficking rings.

Via Stylometry

Stylometry is an AI technique that analyzes the unique writing styles of individuals. The tonal similarities, use of words, and the way language depict the author's personality tells a lot about the poster. Stylometry analyzes patterns of writing style in similar categories of ads. For example, Backpage has adult sections with plenty of ads advertising sex services provided by different individuals.

The trafficked individuals and labor requirements are mostly unique, but they're advertised in similar ways. By compiling the data of a large number of ads on Backpage's adult section ads, stylometry can distinguish various patterns in the writing style.

The ads with the most similarities in any single category are most probably from one human trafficker or a group of them. Upon responding to these ads, the police can identify whether it's prostitution, forced sex, or trafficking opportunities.

This is definitely not as easy or simple as it seems. However, grouping advertisements based on their writing style and tracing the original author can yield fruitful results.

Via Blockchain

Since crypto technology is widely unregulated, it allows hidden payments with relative ease. There are no names, destinations, or bank details required, which makes it a smooth getaway for most people. However, there's one loophole that users can't escape.

Each crypto transaction made using Bitcoin is recorded on Blockchain, where users have their private 'wallets.' These wallets contain information on the different sales made to different places, including human trafficking ads.

To exploit this one drawback of cryptocurrency, researchers have invested in AI to develop crawling data mechanisms. The dealings that lead to the trafficking of human victims can be traced once the receiving end of the sale is identified. Mass sampling and data assessment can quickly help law enforcement in figuring out the possible reasons for the transaction. Chainalysis and Cipher Trace are known to be quite helpful in this regard.

Conclusion

To put it all in perspective, Bitcoin can be a dangerous weapon for criminals if the technology isn't regulated soon. While crypto is a replacement for cash-based transactions, it has also made cybercrime and trafficking much easier.

Noting the alarming rise in human trafficking and sex trafficking rates, legal and AI experts are working tirelessly on countering the crimes. Currently, AI techniques such as Stylometry and Blockchain tracing are proving to be useful in busting trafficking rings. Law enforcement, digital literacy, and crypto crime control can work to tackle the illicit use of Bitcoin for trafficking.