The Philippine government recently warned that despite increasing efforts to combat telecommunications fraud syndicates, these criminal groups are shifting tactics, moving from major cities to remote areas, and continuing their illegal activities in a "guerrilla-style" small-scale mode.
According to Deputy Minister of Justice Felix Nicholas Ty, the scam groups disguise themselves as legitimate businesses, such as Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), but are actually engaged in transnational fraud.
They use resorts and residential areas as bases, relying on simple equipment to operate efficiently, attempting to evade law enforcement.
Deputy Minister Ty admitted that although the government continues to fight these criminal networks with limited resources, completely eliminating them still poses a huge challenge.
According to a report by the United Nations and the United States Institute of Peace, Southeast Asia has become a global hotspot for scam activities, with annual fraud amounts reaching up to 64 billion US dollars.
In the Philippines, about 15,000 workers are involved in the activities of telecommunications fraud gangs. These individuals are usually recruited through social media and may suffer severe punishment or even torture if they fail to meet performance requirements after being forced into illegal work.
Data shows that these transnational criminal groups employ up to 500,000 workers, with the Philippines being one of the key bases. Although the scale of these gangs has reduced and profits have declined, they still invest substantial funds to maintain operations, attempting to recoup costs from victims worldwide.
The Philippine government emphasizes that it will continue to crack down on fraud gangs and cooperate with international organizations to curb this rampant transnational criminal activity. However, the new methods and covert tactics of these gangs make complete eradication more complex, and victims worldwide still face significant threats.
