The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Tuesday, May 21, warned the public against love scams that have been using the name of the bureau in the scheme.
In an advisory, the BI said the public can verify with the bureau any reports or demands of payments though its official Facebook page Facebook.com/officialbureauofimmigration or its hotline +632 8 4652400.
It said it issued the warning after receiving separate verification requests from two Filipinas.
One of the Filipinas, it said, received a report that her “American partner is allegedly being held at the airport last May 15.”
“The American partner was supposedly handed an order to pay P40,000 as penalty for arriving with undocumented foreign currency found in his luggage, which exceeded the legal amount,” it also said.
The other Filipina also received a report that her “Korean partner was arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) for the exactly the same circumstances.”
“A fake BI Facebook account reportedly sent a message to the Filipina demanding payment of $350 for fines,” the BI said.
It pointed out that the BI “does not deal with incoming currency nor with luggage, thus the supposed order is a scam.”