MANILA, Philippines — A 24-year-old man was forced to pawn his family’s home just to accept what he believed was a high-paying job offer abroad—only to end up a victim of a trafficking scheme, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported.

The man was among three Filipinos intercepted at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 on July 20 while attempting to leave for Da Nang, Vietnam via Kuala Lumpur. BI officials said the group, posing as tourists, was flagged due to inconsistencies in their travel details and later turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT).

According to BI, the male passenger revealed he was recruited by a former colleague from a previous BPO job. He was promised a USD 1,200 monthly salary to process airline “refunds” for a supposed international carrier in Cambodia. Desperate to settle mounting debts, he agreed to the offer despite harboring doubts, sharing that their family home had already been pawned to cover costs.

The two other passengers—a 21-year-old woman and a 29-year-old man—also admitted to being lured by suspicious online job offers.

The female victim found the opening through a Facebook post and was later contacted via Telegram by an account with Chinese characters. She was offered a customer service job in Vietnam with a USD 800 monthly salary and received fake employment documents by courier just a day before her scheduled flight.

The other male victim disclosed that he was offered a USD 1,500 salary, a 3 percent sales commission, and a P25,000 sign-on bonus through a Telegram contact. He was instructed to pose as a solo tourist and provided with travel money and documents from a Chinese recruiter. He had no job contract, no work visa, and no knowledge of the company that supposedly hired him.

BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado issued a strong warning to the public about the rise of such illegal recruitment schemes, which are often disguised as legitimate employment opportunities abroad but lead to trafficking and exploitation.

“We urge all Filipinos to be extremely cautious and discerning when presented with overseas job offers—especially those that seem too good to be true,” Viado said. “The stories we hear involve young, unemployed individuals driven by debt and desperation. Do not be deceived. These are not opportunities—they are traps.”

The BI noted that recruitment networks operate aggressively via social media and messaging apps, deliberately targeting vulnerable individuals such as the jobless or financially distressed.

“If a job offer requires you to lie to authorities, travel without proper documents, or deal only through anonymous online contacts, it is almost certainly a scam,” Viado added. “Protect yourself and your loved ones. Report suspicious recruitment activities to authorities immediately.”

The agency said the latest interception comes as part of the government’s intensified campaign against human trafficking and illegal recruitment, in line with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to protect overseas-bound Filipinos from abuse and exploitation.