{"id":7155,"date":"2023-05-31T10:38:50","date_gmt":"2023-05-31T10:38:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bitrabo.com\/community\/crypto-scammers-exploit-offshore-gaming-as-legal-cover\/"},"modified":"2023-05-31T10:39:32","modified_gmt":"2023-05-31T10:39:32","slug":"crypto-scammers-exploit-offshore-gaming-as-legal-cover","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bitrabo.com\/discover\/crypto-scammers-exploit-offshore-gaming-as-legal-cover\/","title":{"rendered":"Crypto Scammers Using Philippine Offshore Gaming as Cover for Illicit Operations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div>\n<p>Lawmakers in the Philippines have raised concerns about the increasing number of crypto scammers in the country and how these crooks are leveraging Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) as a \u201clegal cover\u201d for their illegal activities.<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Ana Theresia \u201cRisa\u201d Hontiveros presented evidence during a hearing on illegal activities involving foreigners. She showed videos and reports on recent raids on different properties in Clark, Pampanga, which resulted in the rescue of over 1,000 victims and the seizure of over $3.2 million in cash showing the magnitude of the scams and the need to address the issue urgently.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Human_Trafficking_Rescue_Linked_with_Crypto_Scammers\"><\/span>Human Trafficking Rescue Linked with Crypto Scammers<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The Senate committee conducted an inquiry to support legislation on the rescue of 1048 trafficking victims who fell prey to a crypto scam operating in Clark Freeport. It discovered that the scam had been in operation since September 2021, masquerading under the guise of a POGO license. The discovery raises concerns about POGO&#8217;s regulatory infrastructure and the potential loopholes for criminal enterprises. <\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Arrests_Made_in_Connection_with_the_Operation\"><\/span>Arrests Made in Connection with the Operation<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The authorities arrested around 12 people who allegedly ran the fraudulent crypto scam operation, signifying a crucial step towards dismantling the scam network maliciously exploiting human trafficking victims.<\/p>\n<p>The survivors of human trafficking from Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand, and Bhutan are in the process of returning home, ensuring that they receive support and assistance to aid their recovery from the traumatic experiences.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Senator_Calls_for_Immediate_Expulsion_of_POGOs_From_the_Country\"><\/span>Senator Calls for Immediate Expulsion of POGOs From the Country<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Senator Hontiveros, chair of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality, called for an urgent ban on POGOs in the country, stating that the immediate removal of POGOs from the country is necessary. She fears that if POGOs aren&#8217;t banned, the human trafficking activities and crypto scam operations associated with them will multiply rapidly. She cautioned that without decisive action, crypto scammers would continue to carry out their operations, making it impossible for the government to effectively combat them.<\/p>\n<pre style=\"text-align: center;\">\n       \n       <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Crypto scammers will continue their operations without any government actions. Image source: Panay News.<\/span>\n   <\/pre>\n<p><em>-Featured image from The Manila Times<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lawmakers in the Philippines have raised concerns about the increasing number of crypto scammers in the country and how these crooks are leveraging Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) as a \u201clegal cover\u201d for their illegal activities. Sen. Ana Theresia \u201cRisa\u201d Hontiveros presented evidence during a hearing on illegal activities involving foreigners. She showed videos and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7157,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"slim_seo":{"title":"Crypto Scammers Using Philippine Offshore Gaming as Cover for Illicit Operations - Bitrabo","description":"Lawmakers in the Philippines have raised concerns about the increasing number of crypto scammers in the country and how these crooks are leveraging Philippine o"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[316],"tags":[1295,504,1293,687,795,1294,1292],"class_list":["post-7155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crypto-news","tag-cover","tag-crypto","tag-exploit","tag-gaming","tag-legal","tag-offshore","tag-scammers"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bitrabo.com\/discover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bitrabo.com\/discover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bitrabo.com\/discover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitrabo.com\/discover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitrabo.com\/discover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7155"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitrabo.com\/discover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7155\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitrabo.com\/discover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bitrabo.com\/discover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitrabo.com\/discover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bitrabo.com\/discover\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}