MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Immigration (BI) warns the public against a new breed of romance scam hubs abroad targeting Filipinos with fake job offers.
This follows President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s heightened crackdown on online job scams exploiting hopeful Filipino workers seeking job opportunities abroad.
Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado reported the repatriation of a 24-year-old male victim, who arrived last night aboard a Philippine Airlines flight from Phnom Penh, following a successful rescue operation coordinated with the Philippine Embassy in Cambodia.
The male victim narrated that he was required to initiate contact under the pretense of a mistakenly sent ‘wrong message’ text, subsequently engaging in flirtatious exchanges with multiple individuals on various social and dating media platforms such as Tinder.
The victim also disclosed that he managed at least 3 fake female profiles and used their photos to deceive unsuspecting targets.
He recounted that, due to his failure to meet performance expectations and the grueling 15-hour work shifts, his employer would tap his head with force or activate stun batons near him to intimidate and instill fear.
Viado urged the public to stay vigilant and cautious, as trafficking hides behind online job offers — making it even more crucial for Filipinos to verify employment opportunities and report red flags to authorities.
“These aren’t just your run-of-the-mill online scams — we’re talking about full-blown operations linked to human trafficking,” said Viado. “Victims aren’t just losing money; they’re being thrown to do shady deals.”
He added that the Bureau is closely monitoring the situation and has passed all gathered intel to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) to investigate the recruiters and anyone linked to the victims’ illegal deployment. #
