The Bureau of Immigration (BI) of the Philippines recently issued a warning that overseas scam centers are masquerading as online gambling companies or call centers, continuously recruiting Filipinos through social media platforms.
BI Commissioner Jaime Morente issued the alert following the latest report from the Immigration Protection and Border Enforcement Section (I-PROBES). The report revealed that recently at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), immigration officers successfully intercepted five suspected victims, including four men and one woman.
According to investigations, these victims were originally planned to be sent to a scam center in Cambodia for work. Initially disguised as tourists, they boarded a Cebu Pacific flight to Hong Kong on February 15 and checked in at Terminal 3 of Manila International Airport.
They declared themselves to be working in well-known restaurants or businesses in the Philippines and entered the immigration checkpoint area in groups, attempting to conceal their connections with each other.
However, immigration officers found anomalies in their documents during the review and requested further investigation. After in-depth questioning, these passengers admitted that upon arrival in Hong Kong, they would be arranged to transfer to Cambodia and be employed by a so-called Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) company.
One of the victims confessed that he was completely unaware before departure, thinking he was going overseas for normal work, and did not understand the operations of scam centers or cryptocurrency scams. He mentioned that due to a sick family member needing financial support, he was ultimately forced to accept the job.
The group of victims revealed that they were promised a monthly salary of 30,000 to 50,000 pesos, along with free accommodation and meals. However, many similar cases indicate that once the victims arrive at the destination, they are forced to engage in online scams, including cryptocurrency investment scams, under extremely exploitative and abusive conditions.
Morente reminded the public that scam gangs in Asia are luring job seekers with high salaries, many scam centers disguise themselves as "customer service" or "online gambling" companies, exploiting the trust of job seekers and pushing them into illegal activities. He emphasized: "We urge Filipinos to remain vigilant when applying for overseas jobs, especially those positions that offer unusually high salaries. Many seemingly legitimate job opportunities are actually fronts for scam groups."
The BI noted that most victims are attracted by recruitment information tagged as "POGO overseas jobs" on social media platforms, especially Facebook. These fake recruitment ads are the main channels through which scam gangs attract victims.
The Philippine government is currently cooperating with international law enforcement agencies to continuously combat cross-border human trafficking and scam groups, and reminds the public to stay alert to avoid falling into scams.
