The Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) has confirmed that among  the modus committed by “scam hubs” is being registered as a “legitimate” Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) business or a service provider for POGOs. Justice Undersecretary Nicholas Felix Ty, who represents the IACAT affirmed this, saying that based on their investigation, saying scam hubs do hide under a legal cover. “The establishment is usually registered as a legitimate POGO business or a service provider for POGOs, but it is only partially involved in online cryptocurrency scamming. Workers are usually hired through online job postings, mostly on Facebook, Telegram and WhatsApp,” Ty said during the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality’s probe into the human trafficking case discovered by operatives in Sun Valley hub in Clark, Pampanga. These workers, he said, are recruited as “call center agents and are promised high saary and good working conditions.” He also said the profile of trafficking victims of scam hubs differs significantly from traditional victim profiles. Some of them are typically young, aged 18 to 35 are technologically-savvy, multilingual and educated. Sen. Risa Hontiveros backed IACAT’s information, saying that the scam is operated by a company called Colorful and Leap Group, which is a sublessee of CGC Technologies, Inc. a POGO company licensed by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR). “It is appalling that this fraudulent cryptocurrency corporation, which has trafficked thousands of foreign nationals into the country to work as scammers, has been operating under a legal POGO. Ginagamit or nagpapagamit ang mga POGO para manloko ng mga inosenteng tao (POGOs are using or being used to deceive innocent people),” Hontiveros said. Hontiveros’ Senate women and children’s panel has launched an investigation into the cryptocurrency scam and human trafficking operation in Sun Valley Hub Corporation in Clark, Pampanga, which operatives uncovered in a police raid last May 5. More than 1,000 nationals were rescued during the operations; most of the victim-survivors are from Indonesia, Vietnam, China, Myanmar, Thailand and Bhutan among others. At least 12 individuals, who were allegedly supervising the operations, were arrested during the raid which was conducted in the offices of the Colorful and Leap Group Offices and residences in Clark. Hontiveros, who was able to conduct an ocular inspection on the said office, was led by Chinese bosses, and operates like a huge call center, with rows and rows of computer tables. “This was where the victim-survivors would set up their fake accounts using different female models also hired by the company. Then they would find scam victims usually from the US, thorugh dating apps like Tinder, Facebook Dating, Bumble and Hinge,” she said. She also said the offices even have video conference rooms that are set up to look like a bedroom, a living room, a gym or an office, so the hired model can pretend to be there should the American victim ask for photos or videos to confirm her veracity. The first step to address the issue, therefore, is to ban POGOs in the country so they would no longer have any “legal cover” to operate beyond regulatory scrutiny. “If POGOs are allowed to continue business as usual, the crypto scam and human trafficking operations will also grow at a frightening rate our government will never be able to overtake,” she said. “Walang ni isang magandang bagay ang naibigay ang POGO sa bansa. Krimen lang ang dala. Paulit-ulit na natin itong sinasabi, at sana naman sa bagong impormasyong ito, matauhan na ang ating gubyerno (POGOs has not brought anything good to our country. Only crimes. We’ve said it repeatedly, and I hope that with these new information, our government will come to its senses). Kick POGOs out of the country now,” Hontiveros stressed. Meanwhile, the two firms based in the Clark Special Economic Zone have decied their involvement in the so-called “love scam” and alleged trafficking of foreign nationals. In a statement, Sunvalley Clark Hub Corporation (SVCHC) said it is a licensed locator inside CSEZ in the business of leasing of office spaces and dormitories. “SVCHC, as a real estate company, is not in any way connected or involved in operating online gaming or call center services,” it said. The said firm also explained that the Colorful and Leap Group identified by authorities as the “love scam” operator is one of the sub-lessees of CGC Technologies, Inc. Accordingly, they said, the lease agreement between SVCHC and CGC is duly-registered with Clark Development Corporation (CDC). CGC Technologies, Inc. however, said the company merely subleased its offices to Colorful and Leap Group which originally presented itself as a gaming service provider.