Latest news with #Cebu
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Hilarious moment confused scam centre workers have the tables turned on them by hero vigilante hackers
This is the hilarious moment a group of confused Filipino scammers got the tables turned on them as hackers took over their computers and cameras. The office full of fraudsters operates from the second floor of a sky rise building in Cebu City Park. Live CCTV footage shows YouTube scam buster 'mrwn' cleverly hacking into their computers and cameras to expose them online and deliver a dose of karma. In the video, the expert locates the telegram account of an agent and renames himself as Adam, their boss. He tries to call the agent multiple times, causing them to panic and call the floor manager over. Next, the floor manager frantically calls the boss and takes screenshots of pictures being sent by the hero hackers, while instructing the agents to abandon the call centre immediately. Some worried agents try to cover their faces in a futile bid to hide their identities. The video, which received more than three million views on YouTube, was made to encourage people not to leave themselves vulnerable to scammers and data breaches. Mrwn - whose real identity is not known - has made it his mission to investigate, troll and exposes scammers before sharing his work with the world. Mrwm says the Philippines is a popular base for a scam call centre as the labour rates are relatively low and the people have a good command of English. In this instance the call centre is running a financial investment scam calling victims The employees use a 14-page script to refer to while trying to dupe victims out of their money. They prey on people who have been struggling financially with promises of a get rich quick scheme and attempt to take money directly from their bank accounts. Reacting to the video on YouTube, one viewer commented: 'Thank you for doing this. Hope you expose more scammers.' Another wrote: 'As a Filipino, I want to say thank you for doing this.' A third added: 'Thank you man. Filipinos appreciate what you have done.'
South China Morning Post
21-05-2025
- South China Morning Post
Philippines to deploy Korean-speaking police in response to crime wave
The Philippines is setting up tourist security desks staffed by Korean-speaking police officers after a spate of crimes targeting South Korean nationals in the country. Advertisement The Presidential Anti-Organised Crime Commission (PAOCC) announced the measures on Tuesday, The Philippine Star newspaper reported. It said that the desks would be placed in police stations located in areas with significant Korean populations. Officers assigned to the desks will undergo basic Korean language training, with support from South Korean officials, according to online media outlet Brigada News. PAOCC Executive Director Gilbert Cruz said the initiative aimed to improve interactions between law enforcement and Korean-speaking visitors and residents. A Filipino policeman stands outside a police station in Quezon City, Metro Manila. Photo Reuters Police patrols will also be increased in areas with a high concentration of South Koreans. Most South Korean nationals in the Philippines live in expat-friendly cities such as Manila, Angeles and Cebu, which are also popular tourist destinations.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Philippine polling firm disowns 'local election survey' graphics
"Former President Rodrigo Duterte who is currently detained in Hague, Netherlands (sic) is still leading in the latest Pulse Asia 2025 Electoral Preference Survey in Davao City from April 26 to May 6," reads a Facebook post on May 9. Another post claims to share Pulse Asia Research poll numbers for central Cebu province's race for governor and appears to show candidate Pamela Baricuatro massively leading incumbent Gwen Garcia. Some 18,000 seats were up for grabs in the mid-term elections largely defined by the explosive feud between President Ferdinand Marcos and impeached Vice President Sara Duterte (archived link). The 12 senators chosen will form half the jury in Duterte's trial tentatively set for July that could see her permanently barred from public office. Her father ex-president Rodrigo Duterte -- detained in The Hague for a crimes against humanity charge -- remains on the ballot in his family's southern stronghold of Davao city where he is seeking to retake his former job as mayor. An initial tally showed the 80-year-old former leader has won in a landslide. Baricuatro is currently leading Garcia with over 98 percent of returns in, results from the poll agency Comelec released by local media showed as of May 13. The circulating graphics, however, are not from Pulse Asia Research according to the organisation. "We strongly denounce any unauthorized use of our name to disseminate false or misleading information," reads a statement posted on its website May 9 which disowned the purported Davao city survey as well as several other local poll results (archived link). Ronald Holmes, the organisation's president, separately said on Facebook they "did not conduct any survey in Cebu province" (archived link). Keyword searches on the official website and verified Facebook page of Pulse Asia Research found no such surveys (archived here and here). The circulating graphics also do not match the format of the firm's survey publications which include the full names of candidates and indicate the question that respondents were asked (archived link). Moreover, the alleged Davao city survey only lists two rivals for former president Duterte for the mayoral race but Comelec's website says five candidates are vying for the seat. AFP has debunked other misinformation swirling around the Philippine mid-term vote here.
South China Morning Post
12-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Philippine midterm elections: casino-linked cash seizure and poll-day disruptions raise alarms
The midterm elections in the Philippines proceeded without major disruption in most areas on Monday, according to officials and observers, but the seizure of nearly half a billion pesos in undeclared cash from foreign nationals, along with isolated incidents of deadly violence and technical glitches, has raised concerns over the integrity of the vote. Advertisement One of the most startling developments occurred late Friday, when six Chinese nationals, three foreigners and two Filipinos were intercepted at Cebu International Airport while attempting to board a private jet to Manila. Authorities discovered 441.9 million pesos (US$7.6 million) in local currency, along with US$168,730 and HK$1,000 in undeclared cash – raising suspicions of illicit election-related activity. Brigadier General Jean Fajardo, spokesperson for the Philippine National Police, said investigators were pursuing multiple leads, including the possibility that the money was intended to influence the polls. 'Is this money part of a plan to influence or at least interfere in our elections?' she said at a Sunday briefing. 'Maybe these foreign nationals might be a conduit to be used to interfere or at least influence our elections.' Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, centre right, and his mother, former first lady Imelda Marcos, centre left, prepare to cast their votes at a polling station in Batac City, Ilocos Norte province, on Monday. Photo: AP Police officials said the foreign nationals – including a Malaysian, an Indonesian and a Kazakh citizen – had declared only three of seven hard-shell suitcases during check-in. X-ray scans and inspection revealed the undeclared currency.
Daily Mail
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Meghan Markle's half-brother reveals he is penning new tell-all book about his famous sibling after relocating to the Philippines with their father
Meghan Markle's estranged half-brother has revealed he is writing a tell-all book about the Duchess of Sussex 's childhood. Thomas Markle Jr., 58, is writing the book in the tranquility of the Philippines, where he is supporting his and Meghan's father, Thomas Markle Sr., 80. 'When my book is finished, ooh it'll be swooped up real quick 'cause it's getting there,' Markle Jr. told the Mirror. 'I'm working on it. It's coming out,' he said, vowing that 'it's gonna be good.' Markle Jr. even expects his book about his half-sister will spin off into other productions. 'I really want to spin off the book, then when the book gets read, the documentary will follow,' he said. 'I'm not a greedy person, it's not about the money - it's about the principle,' Markle Jr. claimed, though he also admitted 'it would be nice to have a nice little cushion from selling a book.' He also claimed that 'everyone wants the book,' and he now has time to write it, as he cares for their mobility-impaired father on the island of Cebu - more than 7,000 miles away from the Duchess of Sussex, 43, and Prince Harry, 40, as well as their two young children, ages six and three. Markle Jr. has been highly critical of his half sister in the past, accusing her of telling 'malarkey' stories about her childhood on her new Netflix series With Love, Meghan. 'This is probably the first time I felt sorry and embarrassed for her', he told journalist Kevin O'Sullivan in March. When he was then asked whether his father had watched the show, Markle Jr replied: 'I didn't have enough heart medication for him to watch it. I didn't want him to kick the bucket, so I'd have to go refill the prescription before I let him watch it.' On the show, the Duchess of Sussex called herself a 'latchkey kid' who 'grew up with a lot of fast food and TV tray dinners.' She had also previously claimed that she 'grew up on the $4.99 salad bar at Sizzler' and how her family was poor in an letter to US politicians, asking them to consider her plea for paid leave for parents. But on her claims that she grew up poor, Markle Jr said: 'That's just another one of the malarkey stories she sold to the Royal Family for sympathy. We weren't poor. She didn't have to rub two nickels together at Sizzler's salad bar.' Critics have previously pointed out that Meghan was raised in middle class comfort in the California suburb of Woodland Hills in a home Thomas Markle, an Emmy-award winning lighting director, bought shortly before Meghan was born in 1981. He sent her to Hollywood's private Little Red Schoolhouse, whose old students include Elizabeth Taylor and Judy Garland, where staff feed students six different types of organic vegetables from the school garden each week. When Meghan was nine he won $750,000 in a lottery and the money helped send Meghan to the $16,000-a-year Immaculate Heart Catholic School, one of LA's finest. In fact, in a blog post from the Duchess of Sussex's now-defunct website The Tig revealed the affection that she once held for her 'hardworking daddy' before he was shut out of her life in 2018. It is now believed that their relationship first became strained when he posed for paparazzi photographs prior to Meghan's royal wedding in 2018. The 80-year-old also suffered a heart attack just before the ceremony, preventing him from walking his daughter down the aisle. He has never met his grandchildren, but when his discussing his move to Southeast Asia in January, he said he is 'not running away' and is instead 'going in search of a more positive life. 'Every day I see something about Meghan,' Markle Sr. lamented. 'I wish her no ill will. 'My dream is that one day I could bring my whole family together, like a "normal" family,' he admitted.
