The Bureau of Immigration (BI) intercepted an alleged scam victim tricked into paying PHP 120,000 for fraudulent assistance in securing illegal employment overseas.
According to Mary Hizon, Chief of the Bureau of Immigration's Immigration Protection and Border Enforcement Section (I-PROBES), the victim was apprehended on January 2 after attempting to pass through immigration inspection by posing as a tourist bound for Bangkok, Thailand.
Alert immigration officers and supervisors reportedly stopped the victim as she attempted to bypass the departure counters. She could not present her passport or boarding pass, claiming that an unidentified man she had met at a restaurant near the terminal was holding them.
She then provided a photo of her passport and boarding pass, which was found to bear a fake immigration stamp.
The victim confessed to finding a Facebook post offering immigration escort services and transferring the required payment through multiple online bank transactions. She then handed her travel documents to the man, who instructed her to wait for a supposed escort.
She was intercepted by BI operatives just before her scheduled boarding time and was told to hurry to the boarding gates.
Meanwhile, the victim found that the man she had been communicating with had blocked her.
BI Commissioner Joel Viado stated that the bureau suspects the victim was being targeted by a mail-order bride syndicate.
Viado pointed out that the case brings to light the dangers of illegal schemes targeting vulnerable individuals hoping for better opportunities.
The victim was then directed to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for necessary assistance.
