Latest news with #PresidentialAnti-OrganizedCrimeCommission
GMA Network
3 days ago
- Politics
- GMA Network
89 foreigners llinked to POGO, scam hubs deported
At least 89 foreigners who are allegedly involved in a scam hub in the Philippines have been deported, according to the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC). According to Saleema Refran's Thursday report on '24 Oras,' 77 Vietnamese and 12 South Koreans were deported as part of PAOCC's efforts to decogest its detention facility in Pasay City, as some are getting sick and in compliance with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s order to hasten the deportation of arrested foreigners. 'Yung temporary detention center natin dito sa Pasay kasi almost 800 pa rin po yung nakakulong natin diyan. And kailangan bawasan na natin. So unti-unti, last month nakapag-deport na rin po kami ng 100 plus and now magde-deport po tayo ng 120 plus,' PAOCC executive director Gilbert Cruz said. (We have almost 800 foreigners in our detention center in Pasay, and we need to decrease the population. So last month, we deported over 100 foreigners, and we will deport 120 more foreigners.) Some foreigners will also be deported this month, depending on the Bureau of Immigration's release of documents and clearances from the National Bureau of Investigation. Cruz also attended the dialogue between the Philippines and the Criminal Police Department of Vietnam to strengthen the cooperation of the two countries in the fight against illegal offshore gaming and related crimes. — Mariel Celine Serquiña/BAP, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
22-05-2025
- GMA Network
Cops to learn Korean language to address crimes vs foreigners — PAOCC
Cops will learn Korean language to accommodate foreigners reporting crimes to police assistance desks, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) said Thursday. PAOCC spokesperson Atty. Ernesto Tendero confirmed this development to GMA News Online in a message. This is among the recommendations of PAOCC during a meeting with the Korean community on May 16. 'During our first meeting with the Korean consulate and the community, yun po yung isang sinuggest natin at umayon po sila,' PAOCC executive director Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz said in a Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon interview on Tuesday. (During our first meeting with the Korean consulate and the community, we suggested that and they agreed.) 'Actually sabi nga nila kapag nabuo nila yung tourist protection desks na iyan, we are willing to send yung mga pulis na tatao dyan para matuto sila noong basic Korean language,' he added. (Actually they said when those tourist protection desks are set up, they are willing to send the police officers so they can learn the basic Korean language.) The meeting came following the killing of a Korean national along Friendship Highway in Korea Town, Angeles City in April. Some persons of interest (POIs) have been identified in the fatal shooting, according to the city police. Angeles City Police head Police Colonel Joselito Villarosa Jr. said the POIs were identified through a review of CCTV footage and other evidence. To help in the probe, the Korean Association Community of Angeles City has offered a P200,000 reward for any information that will lead to the identification and arrest of the perpetrator. The public are encouraged to immediately report any leads to the Angeles City Police. — Joviland Rita/RSJ, GMA Integrated News
Bloomberg
21-02-2025
- Bloomberg
Philippines Raids Chinese-Run Scam Center, Stepping Up Crackdown
Philippine authorities arrested more than 400 individuals during a raid of what they said was a Chinese-run offshore gaming operator in Manila, as the Southeast Asian nation intensifies its crackdown on scam centers. Authorities nabbed 307 Filipinos, 137 Chinese, three Vietnamese, two Thais, two Malaysians, an Indonesian and a Taiwanese, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission said in a statement late on Thursday.
The Independent
14-02-2025
- The Independent
Australian and Philippine police help would-be victims avoid online love scams on Valentine's Day
Australian and Philippine authorities took steps on Valentine's Day to help would-be victims avoid hurting their 'hearts and bank accounts' in online love scams. The Australian Federal Police, with the help of Filipino authorities, on Friday publicized online dialogues used by an online love scam syndicate, which had been dismantled in the Philippines, to help foster vigilance. 'The Australian Federal Police is flipping the script on romance scammers this Valentine's Day by revealing real-life dialogue used to target the bank accounts — and hearts — of thousands of potential victims online,' a joint statement by the Australian police, the Philippine Anti-Organized Crime Commission and other law enforcement agencies said. Philippine authorities raided the syndicate's hideout near Manila in October, arrested more than 250 mostly Chinese suspected members and seized computers and other gadgets used in the online fraud. After an investigation, Australian and Philippine police found the syndicate had attempted to victimize about 5,000 people in Australia alone. They were trying to check if those Australians have already been defrauded, Australian Federal Police officer Kathleen Oehlers said in a news conference in Manila with Philippine anti-crime officials. About $15 million have been lost to such online love scams from victims in Australia last year alone, according to Oehlers. Under the scheme, the suspects would hunt for potential victims, mostly fully employed males, in online dating apps and then use romantic dialogues to develop a whirlwind romance online. A victim would later be encouraged by a scammer under cover of a fake picture and identity to invest in cryptocurrency, initially with relatively small amounts, before shifting the funds to the syndicate's account, Oehlers said. Philippine Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz, who heads the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, said that aside from publicizing the dialogues used by the syndicate to lure and defraud victims, the Australian police also provided crucial tips online. They included being wary of red flags like 'overly affectionate behavior,' he said. Philippine authorities would take similar steps to foster vigilance, Cruz said. "The scammer would portray a kind-hearted Filipino woman living in Australia or a local female resident in the Philippines, heartbroken by an ex-fiance who wanted my money, not my love,'' the statement said. "I'm sorry if our first day of chat is very emotional. By the way, how's your business?' according to one of the scripts used by the syndicate to shift the topic to cryptocurrency investment. Last year, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the closure of the mostly Chinese-run online gaming operations up to the end of 2024, accusing them of venturing into crimes, including financial scams, human trafficking, torture, kidnappings and murder. The Chinese-run online gambling outfits were estimated to number more than 400 across the Philippines and employ hundreds of thousands of Chinese and Southeast Asian nationals. The ban forced many remaining syndicates to break into smaller outfits in the Philippines and diversify their operations into an array of online love, cryptocurrency and investment scams, the Philippine anti-organized crime commission said.
Arab News
31-01-2025
- Arab News
Philippines arrests 100 suspects in online scam farm raid
MANILA: Philippine authorities arrested around 100 people on Friday in a raid on a suspected online scam farm in Manila they said extorted raid in the Makati financial district was part of a crackdown against online crime operators that often act under the guise of gaming from the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, or PAOCC, and the National Bureau of Investigation, armed with assault rifles, surrounded two offices of a lending agency and arrested the suspects as they worked side-by-side at suspects, many of them young Filipinos, allegedly sought out victims via TikTok and other social media, offering collateral-free loans of up to 25,000 pesos ($428).Borrowers were charged 35 percent weekly interest and those who fell behind on payments were harassed, humiliated and threatened with having their personal information spread online, PAOCC director Gilberto Cruz told reporters at the scene.'Some of those they harassed developed mental problems, others fell into depression, and there have even been some suicide incidents that occurred because of the harassment perpetrated by these people,' Cruz suspects could be charged with fraud and other violations under the country's cybercrime laws, he added. The raided company, Wewill Tech Corp., required victims to provide personal information and family photographs, which the scammers then used for threats, according to victims of similar scams have reported having coffins and funeral wreaths delivered to their homes, he are checking the nationality of the owners, Cruz said, adding that they had arrested Chinese suspects running similar operations in the scam farm owners are suspected to be remnants of online gaming operators that were banned under orders of President Ferdinand Marcos last year, he said.'Most of their keyboard workers are Filipino' and communicated with victims in the local language, Cruz told reporters.'What is frightening here is it is Filipinos who are harassing and defrauding their fellow Filipinos,' he United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has tagged Southeast Asia as 'ground zero' of global scamming operations that the authorities say are run mainly by Chinese-origin crime organizations.
