This is what they do overseas too. Had a drinky girl in Korea tell me how she ended up stuck there. She was originally from the Philippines and saw an ad in the paper for a singing gig or something on a cruise line.
I don't remember all of the details, but she responded to the ad, and was told one thing, and when she got to Korea her passport was taken from her. She was to work off her contract of 5 or 6 thousand US dollars at the bar she was assigned to.
I remember being amazed at her bravery for telling me this, and have often thought about her and hoped that she was ok and made it home safely.