THE Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) yesterday alerted aspiring and current overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) against bogus job offers that will turn them into “scammers” for cybercrime syndicates in Myanmar, Laos, or Cambodia.
In a social media post, Migrant Workers Undersecretary Hans Leo Cacdac said cybercrime syndicates are targeting workers from the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam in their human trafficking activities.
“If the job offer for countries like Myanmar, Laos, or Cambodia is ‘data encoder’ or the like, please beware,” said Cacdac.
“You may be lured into a human trafficking ring,” he added.
In its Advisory No. 76 – 2022, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) said it has been getting reports of Filipinos in the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam being victimized by cybercrime and human trafficking syndicates.
The individuals were enticed by online advertisements of supposedly high-paying jobs, such as “customer service representative” or “technical support,” in Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar.
Subsequently, the victims were forced into a “catfishing scam,” or activities involving the use of fake social media accounts with the goal of encouraging people to pay using their credit card.
The POEA said there are also those involved in “crypto pig butchering scam” wherein fake cryptocurrency assets and bogus digital wallets are being used.
It asked Filipinos to check the validity of the job offers with the DMW and asked those with have knowledge of the scam operations to report to its Operations and Surveillance Division via email (osd@dmw.gov.ph) or thru Facebook (www.facebook.com/airbranch).
Last week, Sen. Risa Hontiveros said members of a Chinese mafia are engaged in the trafficking of OFWs, as part of the group’s plan to create an all-Filipino team of scammers in Myanmar.
