MANILA, Philippines – Scam hubs in Cambodia are employing tactics similar to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) to recruit Filipinos into fraudulent operations, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) warned.

BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado issued the warning after immigration authorities intercepted five Filipinos—four males and one female—at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

The individuals were allegedly recruited via social media to work in a Cambodian scam hub under the guise of a call center job.

According to a report from the BI’s Immigration Protection and Border Enforcement Section (I-PROBES), the victims attempted to leave for Hong Kong via a Cebu Pacific flight at NAIA Terminal 3 on February 15.

They posed as tourists and entered immigration in two separate groups, claiming to be employed in well-known Philippine establishments, it said.

However, officers flagged inconsistencies in their documents, prompting further inspection.

During a secondary interview, the passengers admitted that after arriving in Hong Kong, they were to board another flight to Cambodia, where they were promised employment at a business process outsourcing (BPO) company.

One of the victims said he was unaware that the job involved scam operations, admitting he did not even know what cryptocurrency was. He revealed that he only agreed to the job to support a sick family member.

The victims were reportedly offered salaries ranging from P30,000 to P50,000, along with free board and lodging—an approach reminiscent of how POGO firms lure workers in the Philippines.

BI Commissioner Viado cautioned the public about these deceptive recruitment schemes in Cambodia and other Asian countries, where victims are coerced into running cryptocurrency scams and other fraudulent activities under exploitative conditions.

“We urge Filipinos to thoroughly verify overseas job offers, especially those that promise unusually high salaries,” Viado said.

“Many of these so-called customer service roles are actually covers for large-scale scam networks that take advantage of unsuspecting workers.”

Viado also noted that most victims were recruited through Facebook job postings, particularly in groups advertising “POGO work abroad,” highlighting the need for stricter online job monitoring to prevent human trafficking.