FILE

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has once again raised the alarm: scam hubs abroad, disguised as online gaming or call centers, are still actively luring unsuspecting Filipinos into their operations. And where are they finding these recruits? Social media.

BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado made this warning after immigration officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) intercepted five individuals—four men and one woman—who were on their way to Hong Kong last February 15. Their final destination? Cambodia, where they were unknowingly set to work for a scam syndicate.

How They Almost Got Away

The five travelers initially posed as tourists and claimed to have stable jobs in popular restaurants in the Philippines. They even split into two separate groups to avoid suspicion. But immigration officers weren’t buying it.

A closer look at their documents raised red flags, leading officers to conduct further inspections. It wasn’t long before the passengers confessed: after landing in Hong Kong, they were scheduled to take another flight to Cambodia, where they were promised jobs at a business process outsourcing (BPO) company.

One of them admitted he had no clue about cryptocurrency—yet he was about to be thrown into an online fraud operation. His motivation? Desperation. He needed money to care for a sick family member and thought he was securing a stable job.

The victims were promised a salary between ₱30,000 to ₱50,000, plus free board and lodging. What they didn’t know was that they were walking into a nightmare of forced labor, abuse, and deception.

The Social Media Trap

According to Viado, many of these illegal operations use Facebook job postings under names like “POGO work abroad” to attract job seekers. These posts promise high salaries and easy work, only for the recruits to end up trapped in scam hubs, forced to participate in online fraud schemes.

“We urge Filipinos to thoroughly verify overseas job offers, especially those that seem too good to be true,” Viado warned. “Many so-called customer service roles are just fronts for large-scale scam networks that exploit and abuse their workers.”

Stay Vigilant, Stay Safe

With these scam hubs still active in Cambodia and other Asian countries, the BI continues to tighten airport security and educate the public on the dangers of shady overseas job offers.

So if you—or someone you know—is considering an online job abroad, do extensive research before taking the leap. A high salary isn’t worth falling into a dangerous scam operation.