Recently, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) in the Philippines revealed that several scam groups posing as "Business Process Outsourcing" (BPO) companies are active nationwide. Although registered under legitimate company names, these organizations engage in transnational telecommunication fraud, involving large sums of money and highly professional tactics.
The issue began with a video widely circulated on social media, filmed at a "BPO" office building in Cebu City. The video shows Filipino employees deceiving victims in Africa (mainly South Africa) into investing through fake investment websites. The scam process is highly organized, including fake customer service, operation scripts, and money transfers.
DICT spokesperson Renato Paraiso stated, "Previously, these gangs used POGO as a cover, but now they are cloaked as BPOs. We have shifted our monitoring focus from the gambling industry to the outsourcing industry."
Additionally, DICT will investigate whether local governments have been negligent or complicit in issuing business licenses and will report the findings to the government.
More concerning, DICT announced it will collaborate with the Bureau of Immigration and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to investigate a sensitive information incident. Media reports reveal that up to 400 individuals from mainland China, working as executives in a major local telecommunications company, are suspected of overstaying. Originally entering the country on short-term tourist visas, they were positioned in key roles within the company and are suspected of having access to personal user information (such as call records, real-name registrations, location data, etc.).
DICT emphasized that this is not only a misuse of visas but also involves data sovereignty and national information security, and relevant departments will handle it seriously.
Currently, Philippine authorities are intensifying efforts to crack down on these scam groups disguised as legitimate businesses and are urging the public to remain vigilant to avoid falling into fraud traps.
