A Filipina, who confessed to be working for an alleged illegal recruiter, and four persons reportedly recruited as "catfishers" have been intercepted at the Clark International Airport (CIA)  on Christmas day, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said on Thursday, Dec. 26.

“Catfishing or catphishing is a type of online scam wherein the scammers create fake identities and fabricate relationships with their victims, who they later ask to send money or invest in fake accounts,” the BI explained.

“We’ve seen so many victims who have been forced to work as scammers abroad,” said BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado in a statement.  

“Do not let this happen to you, do not allow yourself to be duped into agreeing to the terms set by these syndicates,” Viado warned. 

The BI said the five Filipinos, whose names have been withheld in line with anti-human trafficking laws, were prevented from boarding their flight to Singapore at the CIA. 

It said the four suspected human trafficking victims, all in their 20s, initially claimed they were travelling separately as tourists.

“However, after verification by immigration personnel, they later admitted to be traveling together with a 38-year-old female escort,” it also said.

Thereafter, the BI said that that the suspected vicims admitted that they were bound for Cambodia to work as encoders in a company similar to a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO).

“Their escort admitted that she was instructed by the recruiter to assist the four victims in entering Singapore and eventually crossing to Cambodia,” it also said.

“The victims admitted to have been offered P60,000 salary to work illegally abroad,” it added.