Agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) have arrested five foreigners and 24 Filipinos in Cavite for their alleged involvement in various scams.
NBI director Jaime Santiago said members of the NBI-Cybercrime Division recently caught the foreigners, composed of three Chinese nationals and two Malaysians, and the Filipinos while engaged in their operations in a subdivision in Kawit, Cavite.
He said the 24 Filipinos were engaged to commit romance, investment, crypto and impersonation scams supervised by the foreigners.
NBI Cybercrime Division Chief Atty. Jeremy Lotoc said those arrested belonged to a splinter group of a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub.
Instead of operating in an office, he said the group has shifted to working in residential units.
Lotoc said the scam operations are conducted from different departments and locations to avoid exposure or detection by law enforcement authorities. He said the scammers have administration, operations, finance and money laundering departments.
He said their agents also discovered a 'scam show room' filled with high-end products and luxury items, meant to create an illusion for victims.
Lotoc said he believes that the group still has a “big boss” but declined to give further details, saying that the NBI’s follow-up operation is ongoing.
He said their agents also discovered a “scam show room” filled with high-end products and luxury items, meant to create an illusion for victims.
Pre-registered SIM cards, GCash accounts, computers, devices c scripts, cellphones, and textplus machines, among others, were discovered during the operation.
The arrested individuals were charged under the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act, Lotoc said.
In his third State of the Nation Address President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has ordered the banning of all POGOs in the country by the end of the year.