CIDG: Foreigner, 13 Pinoys arrested in online scam hub raid in Parañaque City
CIDG operatives raid an online scam hub in Barangay Tambo, Parañaque City where a female Chinese and 13 Filipinos were arrested. (photo: CIDG()
Operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) arrested 14 people, including a female foreigner, following a raid in an online scam hub in Parañaque City.
CIDG director Brig. Gen. Christopher Abrahano said the operation also resulted in the rescue of a minor who was hired as one of the scammers in what he called " online task job scam”.
“This underscores our unyielding fight against trafficking in persons, child abuse, and cybercrimes. With this, we significantly prevented future ‘online task job scam’ from happening,” he said.
Abrahano explained that the modus of the syndicate is to operate through the online messaging application “Telegram” where the suspects/scammers send links to their intended victims.
Each suspect, he said, is assigned to 600 Telegram accounts to contact potential victims.
The CIDG chief said that once the link is accessed, the victims are directed to a so-called “task job,” which assigns simple online tasks such as liking the pages of hotel packages. After the completion of these tasks, the victims are instructed to open a Binance account - cryptocurrency account.
After creating the account, Abrahano said the scammers would require the victims to deposit funds into it. The victims are subsequently directed to transfer the deposited funds into a Binance account allegedly managed by the arrested Chinese manager.
“The scammers/suspects will lure victims that the transferred money will generate profit or accrue interest, promising continuous growth of the investment,” said Abrahano.
This misrepresentation forms the basis of the fraudulent scheme, ultimately leading to financial loss on the part of the victims,” he added.
During the raid in Barangay Tambo, CIDG operatives seized 70 desktop computers, cellular phones, computer peripherals, vault, dormitory pass IDs, and passports. They also discovered cryptocurrency account numbers.
The suspects are now facing charges relating to human trafficking and violation of the Anti-Cybercrime Law.
The rescued female minor was turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).