Philippines deports 165 suspected scammers

May 17, 2024 | 10:45

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The Philippines’ immigration bureau on May 15 announced that it had deported 165 Chinese citizens who were accused of working in an online scam centre based in Bamban in the north of the country.

Philippines deports 165 suspected scammers, Illustrative photo (Photo: khaleejtimes.com)

Hanoi – The Philippines’ immigration bureau on May 15 announced that it had deported 165 Chinese citizens who were accused of working in an online scam centre based in Bamban in the north of the country.

A statement from the immigration bureau said that the group were flown to Shanghai on May 14 and forever barred from returning to the Philippines.

The deportees were among hundreds of employees, both Filipino and foreign, rounded up by an anti-crime government task force in a raid of an office compound in Bamban on March 14.

They were involved in "scamming activities" and did not have proper travel documents.

Across Southeast Asia, scam centres have mushroomed, with crime syndicates luring, kidnapping, or coercing workers into predatory online activity, AFP reported.

According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the scam industry is raking in unprecedented sums, the equivalent of billions of dollars.

Victims have reported traveling across the region, often on the pretence of romance or high-paying jobs. They were forced to cajole people into ploughing money into fake investment platforms and other ruses.

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