manila:: Philippine authorities have rescued more than a thousand people from several Asian countries who were smuggled into the country, held captive and forced to run online scams, an official said on Saturday. . International concern has grown in recent months about internet scams in the region, which are often perpetrated by trafficked victims tricked or coerced into promoting bogus crypto investments.
Michelle SabinoA spokeswoman for the Philippine National Police Force’s anti-cybercrime group said officers raided a cluster of buildings in the city of Mabalacat, about 90 km north of Manila, on Thursday. A total of 1,090 people were rescued who were recruited to run online scams. Sabino said that the victims were forced to target unsuspecting people in this case. United States of americaEurope and Canada.
Their passports were confiscated and they were forced to work up to 18 hours a day with pay cuts to chat with co-workers or take extended breaks. “You’re like a prisoner without a cell. You’re not even allowed to talk to your roommates,” Sabino told AFP. “They are not allowed to go outside the gate. After 18 hours of work, they are brought to their hostel.”
Police said in a separate statement that most of the victims were Chinese nationals, Vietnamese, Filipinos and Indonesians. The officials also rescued people from Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, Myanmar, Hong Kong and Nepal.
Sabino said employees were trained to entice strangers to shop cryptocurrency or depositing money into fake bank accounts after establishing a fake romantic relationship.
Michelle SabinoA spokeswoman for the Philippine National Police Force’s anti-cybercrime group said officers raided a cluster of buildings in the city of Mabalacat, about 90 km north of Manila, on Thursday. A total of 1,090 people were rescued who were recruited to run online scams. Sabino said that the victims were forced to target unsuspecting people in this case. United States of americaEurope and Canada.
Their passports were confiscated and they were forced to work up to 18 hours a day with pay cuts to chat with co-workers or take extended breaks. “You’re like a prisoner without a cell. You’re not even allowed to talk to your roommates,” Sabino told AFP. “They are not allowed to go outside the gate. After 18 hours of work, they are brought to their hostel.”
Police said in a separate statement that most of the victims were Chinese nationals, Vietnamese, Filipinos and Indonesians. The officials also rescued people from Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, Myanmar, Hong Kong and Nepal.
Sabino said employees were trained to entice strangers to shop cryptocurrency or depositing money into fake bank accounts after establishing a fake romantic relationship.