NBI raids QC call center allegedly involved in cybersex racket

National Bureau of Investigation operatives on Wednesday morning raided a call center in Quezon City suspected of engaging in a cybersex racket.

According to the NBI, "call center agents" are paid up to P30,000 per week to have sex chats with customers while showing pre-recorded pornographic videos of female Filipinos, mostly aged 15 years old and below.

The government agents served a search warrant on the call center in the Anonas area, radio dzBB's Allan Gatus reported.

"Sa bisa ng search warrant, nakuha ang ebidensya ang computer kung ito ba nagbebenta ng porn site at ginagamit sa cyber sex. Base sa initial investigation natin sila ay involved sa pagbebenta ng porn site," NBI anti-cybercrime unit head Ronald Aguto said.

He also said they are verifying the connection of the Quezon City call center with a similar establishment in Sta. Mesa, Manila that was raided Tuesday night.

PHOTO: Isang call center company, sinalakay ng NBI Cyber Crime Division sa Quezon City. pic.twitter.com/zFcpE5YHQ6 | via @allangatus

— DZBB Super Radyo (@dzbb) January 29, 2014

It was not immediately clear if arrests were made in Wednesday's raid.

For now, Aguto said the NBI's technical operatives are conducting "live forensics" on the seized computers.

The dzBB report said at least one person was arrested in Tuesday night's raid on the call center office in Sta. Mesa.

"Nagkaroon ng information ang call center na ito nagbebenta ng porn site (We were acting on information that the call centers were fronts for porn sites)," Aguto said.

He also said they are verifying information that foreigners would pay P500 every time they logged into the porn site.

Earlier raid

On Tuesday evening, John Consulta's report on "Saksi" indicated that at least 20 call center agents were arrested in Tuesday night's raid in Sta. Mesa.



Quoting Aguto, the report said the modus of the group is to recruit "call center agents" who will act as models and chat with customers using pre-recorded pornographic videos of female Filipinos, mostly aged 15 years old and below.

The group offered their agents around P5,000 to P30,000 per week, depending on their efforts to market their porn sites to clients, mostly from the United States, Australia, and United Kingdom, it added.

Meanwhile, the call center agents denied any knowledge of the modus, the report said.

However, NBI agents found pornographic materials that may have been used in the operation in the computer units left open after the raid, it added.

NBI Cybercrime Division's agents are investigating, the report said.

Earlier this month, Malacañang vowed to crack down on online child sex abuse, days after a global police operation dismantled a pedophile ring that streamed live sexual abuse of Filipino children over the Internet.

"We will not countenance any syndicates that will (prey) on our minors and that they will be used... as sexual instruments. That is something that we will really pound the hammer on," Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda told reporters. — with a report from Amanda Fernandez /LBG/HS, GMA News