Operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) have arrested 93 officials and employees of a company allegedly involved in cryptocurrency scam in a raid in Mabalacat City in Pampanga.
CIDG director Police Maj. Gen. Albert Ignatius Ferro said his men also recovered 159 units of desktop computers, seven laptops, 554 units of cellular phones, and voluminous documents concerning the operations of Oasis Hub, a Business Processing Outsourcing service provider for a licensed offshore gaming operations.
Those arrested were couple Richard and Connie Tan, the managers/supervisors of Oasis Hub Inc., and 91 Chinese working as its employees.
The alleged modus
Cryptocurrency uses digital files as money which is used in online transactions.
In the case of the raided firm, Ferro said Oasis Hub Inc. employed Filipinos who create fake social media accounts using stolen pictures of models or beautiful women from Facebook or Instagram.
"The scammers then portray themselves as wealthy models and entice the unwitting victims to invest. They then enter dating apps where they search for prospective victims. The victims are introduced to an online platform to invest in cryptocurrency and start trading," said Ferro.
"However, the platform is manipulated by Chinese nationals working behind Oasis Hub Inc," he added.
Ferro said the operation was based on the tip of an insider about the fraudulent activities of Oasis Hub Inc.
Quoting the informant, Ferro said the company is involved in cryptocurrency investment fraud that is entirely different from services that the company is authorized to provide.
He said technical personnel from the CIDG recovered digital evidence supporting the allegation of fraud during the on-site forensic examination.
Extracted from the devices found in Oasis Hub Inc. were fake social media accounts, traces of communications with victims, the company website, trading platform, transaction records, and profiles of victims.
Hunt
Ferro said they are now running after a certain Mr. Wang who is tagged as the brain of the operation.
A total of 126 Filipino employees who are Customer Service Representatives of Oasis Hub Inc. voluntarily submitted themselves to testify against the company management," said Ferro.
He said charges of violation of Section 26 of the Republic Act 8799 in relation to RA 10175 were referred to Mabalacat City Prosecutors Office on January 11.