BI warns Filipinos about social media scams in SE Asia

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has issued a warning to Filipinos about the use of Telegram and Facebook by international trafficking syndicates to recruit workers for online scam operations in Southeast Asia.

Commissioner Joel Anthony M. Viado stated that 125 trafficking victims were intercepted in 2024, highlighting the increasing prevalence of 'catphishing' schemes through social media.

The Philippine government has maintained a Tier 1 ranking in the US State Department's Trafficking in Persons report for nine consecutive years, indicating full compliance with minimum standards to combat human trafficking.

On March 28, four individuals were prevented from boarding a flight to Malaysia after being misled by false job offers on social media and coerced into creating fake online personas for love scams.

In March, 206 Filipinos were repatriated from Myanmar where they had been forced into cyber-fraud operations; most victims are between the ages of 20 and 44 and have college educations.

The BI is collaborating with the Department of Justice's Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking to monitor online recruitment efforts and intercept potential trafficking victims at exit points across the country.