On May 15, 2024, the Philippines announced that it had deported 165 Chinese citizens accused of participating in an online scam operation based in the northern part of the country.
The group was flown to Shanghai on May 14 and permanently barred from returning to the Philippines, according to the country's immigration bureau.
The 165 deportees were part of a larger group of hundreds of employees, both Filipino and foreign, who were rounded up during a raid by an anti-crime government task force on an office compound in the municipality of Bamban on March 14.
The immigration bureau stated that the 165 individuals were involved in "scamming activities" and did not have proper travel documents, making them "undesirable aliens."
After the raid, authorities reported that some of the workers were forced into the scam operation and had their passports confiscated, preventing them from leaving.
The raid was prompted by a tip from one of the Vietnamese workers who managed to escape the compound and seek police assistance.
Across Southeast Asia, similar scam centers have proliferated, with criminal syndicates luring, kidnapping or coercing workers into engaging in predatory online activities. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime has stated that the scam industry is generating unprecedented sums, estimated to be in the billions of dollars.
Victims have reported being tricked into traveling to the region, often under the guise of romance or high-paying jobs, only to find themselves forced to persuade people to invest in fake platforms and other deceptive schemes.
菲律賓驅逐 165 名涉嫌詐騙的中國人至中國
2024年5月15日,菲律賓宣布已驅逐 165 名被指參與位於國家北部的網上詐騙行為的中國公民。
根據菲律賓移民局的消息,這批人於 5 月 14 日被送往上海,並永久禁止返回菲律賓。
這 165 名被驅逐者是在 3 月 14 日政府反犯罪特遣隊在班班市一處辦公室綜合樓進行突擊行動時被拘捕的數百名員工(包括菲律賓人和外國人)之一。
移民局表示,這 165 人參與了「詐騙活動」,並且沒有合適的旅行證件,因此被視為「不受歡迎的外國人」。
在突擊行動後,當局表示,部分工人被迫參與該詐騙活動,並被扣押護照而無法離開。
此次行動是在一名越南工人逃離該場所並求助警方後進行的。
在東南亞各地,類似的詐騙中心正在迅速蔓延,犯罪集團誘騙、綁架或強迫工人參與掠奪性的網上活動。聯合國毒品和犯罪問題辦公室表示,詐騙業正在創造前所未有的巨額利潤,估計達數十億美元。
受害者表示,他們經常被騙到該地區,常見的藉口是戀愛或高薪工作,結果卻被迫說服他人投資於虛假平台和其他欺騙性計劃。
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