The Philippine National Police (PNP) has rescued more than 1,000 human trafficking victims, who were forced to work up to 18 hours per day due to cryptocurrency scams.
Authorities have arrested 12 suspected ringleaders and will charge them with human trafficking. This includes seven Chinese, four Indonesians and a Malaysian.
Crypto scam ring bust
according to a report Through local media, the victims immediately accepted job offers after the perpetrators lured them with free flights and accommodation. But when they arrived, their passports were confiscated and they were forced to work up to 18 hours a day, in addition to taking pay cuts to interact with colleagues or take long breaks.
An official revealed that a total of 1,090 people have been rescued after being smuggled from several countries and held in captivity to forcefully run scams online. Most workers were from Asia, including Vietnam (389), China (307), the Philippines (171), Indonesia (143), Nepal (40), Malaysia (25), Myanmar (7), Thailand (5), and Taiwan. (2), Hong Kong (1).
Michelle Sabino, a spokeswoman for the PNP Anti-Cyber Crime Group (ACG), has revealed the arrests of at least 12 suspected ringleaders who are believed to be the operators of a fraudulent entity called Color and Leap Group Co. In front of the Ministry of Justice in Manila.
In a statement to the media, Sabino noted that the operators trained workers to lure strangers into buying cryptocurrency or deposit money into fake bank accounts after establishing fake romantic relationships. Unsuspecting individuals in the United States, Europe, and Canada have been particularly targeted for scams.
“They will build together the promise of a good future. Let’s buy a house, buy a car, invest money, let’s do business together.”
Rampant crypto romance scam
Potato encryption I mentioned earlier that scammers have changed their tactics in the bear market. One of them that has gained notoriety has been – crypto romance scams – whereby bad actors form romantic relationships with victims through online platforms to trick them out of money in various ways.
This includes directly soliciting cryptocurrency, providing some form of fraudulent investment advice, or malicious links to apps and websites that can drain a victim’s cryptocurrency wallets.
In a similar case, a 60-year-old Indian woman lost nearly $30,000 in a cryptocurrency investment scam after being approached on a matrimonial website in March.
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