Philippine police raided a Chinese-run scam center in Manila and arrested dozens of Filipino and foreign workers allegedly involved in defrauding people through a “manipulated” trading platform.
Local reports indicate that the center posed as a licensed online gaming company, which President Ferdinand Marcos banned last month due to its connections with scams, kidnapping, human trafficking, and murder.
During the pre-dawn raid on August 22nd, police apprehended 67 foreigners, including 58 Chinese nationals and others from Malaysia, Myanmar, Indonesia, and Vietnam, along with 32 Filipinos. The police also arrested the facility’s owner and manager, both Chinese nationals.
According to a police statement, the center operated a “crypto-currency investment scam” and a “love scam,” where employees posed as wealthy models to lure victims into investing in the “manipulated” trading platform.
Filipinos arrested claimed they were forced to work as scammers, although the statement did not clarify the consequences of refusal. Some employees were reportedly made to “dress in a seductive manner” and engage in “lascivious conduct” to attract potential victims.
This crackdown follows Marcos’ ban on online gambling operators last month, spurred by public outrage over allegations that a local mayor, Alice Guo of Bamban municipality, was involved in a large scam center north of Manila.
Guo, accused of fraudulently obtaining Filipino citizenship to run for office, has since fled the country, leading Marcos to vow to pursue those who “aided in her flight,” stating that “heads will roll.”
Authorities suspect that several hundred illegal online gambling entities, along with some of the over 40 licensed operators, may be running scam centers under the noses of public officials. As the POGO operations start winding down, there will be more raids in the coming months.