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royal circle club BI logs increase in trafficking cases linked to catphishing
2025-02-17

INQUIRER file photo / ALEXIS CORPUZ
MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has expressed alarm over the increase in cases involving Filipinos being trafficked by catfishing syndicates.
zenith slotsBI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado revealed that the agency intercepted 14 victims attempting “to depart for illegal work in scam hubs abroad” last week.
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At first, the agency’s Immigration Protection and Border Enforcement Section reported that the passengers appeared to be first-time travelers on a self-funded trip to Thailand, but their “conflicting responses during initial questioning raised suspicions” among authorities.
Article continues after this advertisementLater, the first batch of rescued victims admitted they had been recruited to work in Cambodia as customer service representatives for a business process outsourcing company (BPO).
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Article continues after this advertisementOn the other hand, 11 trafficking victims in their mid-20s were intercepted while attempting to board the same airline bound also for Thailand on February 5.
Article continues after this advertisementThe BI said the victims also gave conflicting responses to authorities, prompting them to investigate further.
The results of the agency’s in-depth questioning revealed that the victims had been “lured with promises of P50,000 monthly pay to work at fraudulent BPOs in Pakistan.”
Article continues after this advertisement“The recruiter had instructed them to pose as students on vacation and to conceal their Pakistani visas,” it said.
“The intercepted victims were referred to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for assistance, and efforts are underway to file cases against the recruiters,” it added.
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Viado stressed that these schemes “place Filipinos in perilous situations where they face limited or no opportunity for escaperoyal circle club, trapped in illegal work within unregulated industries and fraudulent business operations.”
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