BI: Japanese target of online scammers

MANILA, Philippines — Japanese nationals are reportedly being targeted by online scammers, the Bureau of Immigration said yesterday.

The BI said that based on the accounts of one of 26 victims of human trafficking who were repatriated from Cambodia on April 16, he was forced to work and swindle Japanese nationals.

The victim said he was initially hired as a Japanese translator. Later on, he was forced to work in a crypto scam, specifically targeting Japanese citizens.

He said he was promised a regular salary, but ended up receiving a one-time payment of $2,500.

“This case reveals a new trend where trafficked Filipinos are forced to be part of crime rings and are used to deceive foreign nationals online,” Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said.

“We are seeing victims being exploited not only as targets, but also as tools in these cyberscams,” Viado added.

The victim told the BI that he was recruited by a foreigner and was instructed to exit the Philippines through a small boat in Tawi-Tawi bound for Malaysia.

He was trafficked in Malaysia, Brunei, Bangkok and Laos before ending up in Myanmar and Cambodia.

The BI reiterated the risks of using illegal exit points, which are being exploited by trafficking groups.