Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Norman Tansingco warns the public anew against con artists using the name of the agency to dupe people out of money.
The warning followed after the BI received a report about an Australian who was asking the assistance of the immigration as his Filipina friend, “Victoria”, was allegedly detained at the Clark International Airport (CIA) before her supposed departure to Australia.
The swindler, claiming to be detained for smuggling 18 kg Alluvial Gold bars, sent a photo to his victim of a fake letter allegedly signed by the BI Chief.
In the letter, it was cited that “Victoria” was being held for lacking documents to travel with gold minerals, and so the Australian is demanded to pay USD 4000 to secure an “ownership certificate” for her.
“First of, the Philippine Bureau of Immigration has no business inspecting the luggage of travelling passengers. There is a separate government agency for that,” Tansingco clarified.
“BI agents are also not authorized to receive money through wire transfers for immigration processes,” he added.
Love scammers strike again – BI
Tansingco then expressed his dismay towards the incident. “These fraudsters even had the audacity to use my name and forge my signature, in a document that was not even written well,” Tansingco said. “It’s the same story over and over again for these scammers, but this time they are targeting foreign nationals using Filipinos. Do not be victimized by these criminals,” he warned.
According to cybersecurity firm Kaspersky, victims of online love scams are on the rise in Southeast Asia.
“They are scamming based on the prospect of promised love. These are people who reach out through text, calls. They develop from there. They prey on emotional needs,” said Siang Tiong Yeo, Kaspersky general manager for Southeast Asia.
Based on Kaspersky data, one in 2 or almost half of their 1,600 survey respondents lost money because of the love scam.
PNP said up to 100 cases of love scams had been reported to them.
According to the anti-cybercrime group, this crime may have been underreported because the victims were ashamed.
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