The Optical Media Board (OMB) arrested 16 individuals following a raid in an alleged illegal business process outsourcing (BPO) involved in piracy but was later found out to be a cybersex den in Quezon City on Tuesday.
The agency was tipped off on the the BPO located in Tandang Sora Avenue which is allegedly involved in piracy, prompting the OMB to conduct an inspection of the building.
“We conducted an inspection tonight kasi gabi sila nagbubukas (they open at night) and we found out, we were expecting na BPOs since OMB kami we wanted to find out kung mayroon silang mga valid licenses ng softwares nila, pero ang inabutan namin, they were conducting cybersex operations (we were expecting BPOs since we are the OMB, we wanted to find out if they have valid licenses for their softwares. However, we found out that they were conducting cybersex operations),” OMB chief legal officer Atty. Cyrus Valenzuela said.
He said that the business uses messaging and online dating apps to offer obscene photos, massage services, and other services.
“Once nagbook ang client, nakukuha nila lahat ng credit card information, tapos kapag may nagreklamo bakit ako nakaltasan, wala pa naman ako naa-avail, may naka-ready sila na sagot, mga set answers na ‘Sir baka may problema sa bank ninyo, baka you need to re-enter iyong details ninyo’ (Once the client has booked, the suspects will have access to the client's credit card information and once they complain about being charged even if they have not availed of any services yet, the suspects already have a prepared set of answers such as 'There may be a problem with your bank. You may need to re-enter your credit card information')," Valenzuela said.
According to OMB, the business has been in operation for more than a year and may already have other branches. The agency also got hold of the list of customers that the group has contacted in their computer, most of whom are foreigners.
The facility failed to show a business permit to OMB officials. It was later found out that the name of the company registered with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) was different.
The OMB said it plans to file charges against those arrested for violating Republic Act No. 9239,the Optical Media Act of 2003.