BI: Beware of crypto scammers on FB, TikTok

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) is warning Filipinos seeking to work overseas against cryptocurrency scammers who are using social media platforms to defraud workers.

Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the bureau uncovered the scheme after interviewing yesterday eight repatriated overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Cambodia who were recruited by a fraud ring through Telegram, Facebook and TikTok.

Tansingco said the OFWs, whose ages range from early 20s to late 30s, arrived yesterday at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2 on a Philippine Airlines flight from Phnom Penh.

BI records showed that two of the OFWs departed at the NAIA as tourists and three at Clark International Airport in Pampanga.

Tansingco said an immigration officer from Clark who was previously recalled and investigated for allegedly facilitating the departure of human trafficking victims was the same employee who cleared the three victims.

Three other OFWs did not pass through the port as they traveled for seven days before reaching their destination, according to Tangsingco.

“From Zamboanga, they traveled to Brunei, Jakarta and Thailand before reaching Cambodia,” he said.

“The victims were promised salaries of as much as $1,000 per month. They were forced to work for up to 18 hours per day without a day off,” Tansingco added.

He said several Filipino professionals are being lured into good-paying jobs abroad, only to end up as victims of cryptocurrency scam gangs.

“This is a hard battle. Human trafficking is a multifaceted issue and must be addressed from its roots. Those illegally recruiting and victimizing our kababayans must be arrested and jailed,” Tansingco said.