THE Philippine Embassy in Yangon yesterday said the Myanmar police have rescued four (4) Filipinos who worked as scammers for a cryptocurrency syndicate.
Charge D’Affaires Enrique Pingol said the four workers earlier sought the help of the embassy, saying they were promised high salaries when they were recruited but ended up working at a crypto farm in Myanmar.
Pingol said the workers said they crossed the border to Myanmar from Thailand without going through proper immigration protocols.
“We are given the assurance by local authorities that they are okay. We also requested for us to be given consular access so that we can talk to them,” Pingol said in a television interview.
He said they are now working on the repatriation of the four in coordination with Myanmar authorities.
Immigrations Commissioner Norman Tansingco has earlier warned Filipinos to beware of offers made through social media to work abroad after it recently rescued six alleged victims of a crypto trafficking syndicate before they can depart the country.
The initial destination of the six was Thailand, but they admitted they were recruited to work in Laos as encoders and e-games staff.
“There are reports that many of our kababayans are offered work in BPOs only to end up working for scamming companies abroad. We reiterate our warning not to entertain offers received on social media, and always coordinate with the Department of Migrant Workers when applying for work abroad,” Tansingco said.
Pingol issued a similar warning for those wanting to work abroad, saying fake recruiters offer high salaries to applicants, who subsequently end up as scammers at crypto currency investment firms.
“Paalala sa ating mga kababayan na legitimate na magbibiyahe sa Thailand as a tourist – maging alerto sa mga patakaran ng immigration ng mga bansang pinupuntahan natin, lalo na dito sa Thailand at Myanmar
(I would like to remind Filipinos who will travel to Thailand as legitimate tourists to be aware of the immigration protocols of the countries you are visiting, especially here in Thailand and Myanmar),” Pingol said.
