Philippine National Police (PNP) chief P/Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. on Friday ordered an intensified campaign against a “guerrilla-style” black market for illegal text blasters following recent operations in Cavite and Parañaque City.

The equipment reportedly came from dissolved Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), and Nartatez said authorities want to account for all of the devices, including those being sold online.

He disclosed that these specialized machines are no longer confined to large-scale scam centers, as criminals are now offloading the equipment to individual buyers through popular social media and e-commerce platforms.

“While we have seen a decline in centralized scam hubs since the 2024 POGO ban, we are now facing a guerrilla-style distribution. These devices are being pulled out from closed firms and sold individually to smaller criminal elements,” Nartatez said.

“We cannot allow these to proliferate, and our police units were already tasked to intensify intelligence monitoring and strategic operations against all those involved,” he added.

The PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) recently arrested three suspects accused of selling GSM-based text blasters online in separate sting operations.

In Parañaque City, two individuals allegedly sold three 32-port units priced at P40,000 each. Meanwhile, in Cavite, another suspect was arrested for selling two 32-slot 4G text-blast devices for P20,000 each.

Police said some of those involved were former POGO workers who retained the equipment after the industry’s closure and later resold it.

“The danger of these text blasters lies in their ability to bypass traditional network security. Unlike internet-based scams, these devices act as portable cell sites, forcing nearby phones to receive unsolicited and often malicious messages,” Nartatez explained.

He noted that these gadgets remain the primary engines for large-scale smishing and phishing campaigns.

To stop the proliferation of these sales, Nartatez also ordered the PNP-ACG to heighten surveillance of digital storefronts. Police are currently hunting down sellers posting these restricted items on online selling platforms.

“We are working in lockstep with the National Telecommunications Commission to enforce a zero-tolerance policy on e-commerce sites. Our PNP-ACG conducts 24/7 cyber patrolling to identify these listings,” Nartatez said.