The Philippines Bureau of Immigration (BI)’s Travel Control and Enforcement Unit (TCEU) has rescued the supposed victims of a “crypto trafficking ring”.
According to the Philippines government-owned news agency, only six of the victims have been rescued as they were recruited to scam people of their cryptocurrencies while they work as call center agents in Cambodia.
How the Rescue Happened
The BI officers stopped the alleged victims while they were about to board a plane to Phnom Penh on January 15 and discovered they had return tickets that appeared fake. The scammers were immediately taken to the commissioner who questioned them, and following the questioning, they continuously gave inconsistent and unconvincing answers.
After some time, the six passengers confirmed that they were given jobs via Facebook as call center agents in Cambodia. With a high level of disappointment, BI Commissioner Norman Garcera Tansingco relieved all the immigration officers who cleared the victims for departure, from their duties until the investigation is done and their innocence is proven.
However, the authorities together with the commissioner have assured that they will do everything within their capacity and beyond to make sure the illegal recruiters that suppress their employees to partake in illegal schemes, will be brought to book. Likewise, the authorities are investigating government employees who are part of the scheme or assisted in any way.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson said the authorities are currently questioning three persons out of the six to confirm if the crypto trafficking case relates to the human trafficking group in Cambodia and Myanmar.
Other Crypto Scams in the Industry
Earlier in the month, The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) busted a criminal network operating call center-based online scams that spanned almost the entire continent of Europe. A total of 15 people were detained after Europol conducted operations in several locations across Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Serbia.
Equally as reported by TheCoinRise in November, the Delaware Department of Justice’s Investor Protection Unit suspended the operations of about 23 organizations and people involved in “pig butchering scams” which entail crypto romance frauds.
In this case, the criminals approach lonely individuals online and lure them into a romantic relationship, afterward rob them completely while they are under the influence of sentiments.
