Three more Filipinos who were allegedly forced to work at a "scam hub" in Laos were able to return safely to the Philippines, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported.
The three human trafficking victims, all female, arrived from Vientiane, Laos last April 12, according to the BI's immigration protection and border enforcement section (I-PROBES).
The victims admitted that they were offered work as call center agents, but similar to previous repatriates, were actually made to work as scammers conducting love scam operations.
The BI first sounded the alarm on the modus operandi in 2022, with the Interpol recently raising their concern on the gangs and scammers in Southeast Asia involved in online romance scam centers.
Previous victims recounted how they are forced to join dating sites and trick Western men into investing in fake cryptocurrency accounts.
Victims said that they were physically abused if they were unable to reach their quota.
News articles cite the Interpol in saying that an organized crime group can rake up as much as $50 billion a year.
“There’s no sign that these traffickers will stop. Until there are more victims that they can scam, and more Filipinos that they can dupe to join their illegal scheme, then this problem can keep on growing,” BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said.
Tansingco said that apart from strict departure formalities, he has ordered a strong communications campaign to inform the public about the modus.
#WeTakeAStand #OpinYon #LaosScamHub #IPROBES #FakeCryptoCurrencyAccounts #OnlineRomanceScamCenter