24 Pinoys forced to work as 'love scammers' in Cambodia repatriated

Twenty-four Filipinos who allegedly fell victim and were forced to work in an online "love scam" operations in Cambodia were repatriated back to the Philippines, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said.

Immigration officials said the victims arrived in the country on February 14 onboard a Philippine Airlines flight from Phnom Penh.

According to the BI, the victims who were mostly in their 20s were allegedly recruited online through job advertisements promising high salaries for so-called “love scammers” or “love finders,” purportedly in digital marketing roles abroad.

However, upon deployment, they were forced to target foreign nationals on online dating platforms and persuade them to send money under the guise of investment opportunities and romantic relationships.

Of the 24 repatriated Filipinos, 16 left the country posing as tourists, two exited through illegal backdoor channels, and six departed as overseas Filipino workers.

One female victim was also allegedly deployed to Brunei, where she was similarly forced to communicate with targets through online dating applications.

“This is not legitimate employment. This is organized fraud with international victims," said BI Commissioner Joel Viado in a news release.

"We will not allow our country to be used as a recruitment ground for global scam operations,” he said. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News