The country launched a probe in March 2021 into WhatsApp's privacy policy, which allowed data sharing with Facebook and its units, sparking global backlash
world3 days ago
The Philippines said Wednesday it had deported 165 Chinese citizens it accused of working in an online scam centre based in the north of the country.
The group were flown to Shanghai on Tuesday and forever barred from returning to the Philippines, the immigration bureau said in a statement.
The deportees were among hundreds of employees, Filipino and foreign, rounded up by an anti-crime government task force in a raid of an office compound in the northern municipality of Bamban on March 14.
Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.
The 165 were involved in "scamming activities" and did not have proper travel documents, making them "undesirable aliens", the immigration statement said.
After the raid, the authorities said some of the workers were forced into it and "were controlled by having their passports confiscated so they were unable to leave".
The raid occurred following a tip-off from one of the Vietnamese workers who sought police help after he said escaped from the compound.
Across Southeast Asia, scam centres have mushroomed, with crime syndicates luring, kidnapping or coercing workers into predatory online activity.
The scam industry is raking in unprecedented sums, the equivalent of billions of dollars, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
Victims have reported travelling across the region, often on the pretence of romance or high-paying jobs but finding themselves forced instead to cajole people into ploughing money into fake investment platforms and other ruses.
ALSO READ:
The country launched a probe in March 2021 into WhatsApp's privacy policy, which allowed data sharing with Facebook and its units, sparking global backlash
world3 days ago
This time around, Trump wants the Senate to give up that gatekeeping role and allow him to make 'recess appointments'
world3 days ago
Police allege the offences took place between 2001 and 2019 against 8 victims; the youngest was 17 at the time of the offence
world3 days ago
The two countries have a mutual defence treaty dating back to 1951, which could be invoked if either side came under attack, including in the South China Sea
world3 days ago
Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu conferred the Grand Commander of the Order of Niger on Narendra Modi in Abuja on Sunday
world4 days ago
The titleholder's winning answer focused on using each individual's strengths
world4 days ago
The suspects would be interrogated jointly with the Shin Bet internal security agency, police said
world4 days ago
The attack took place at the Wuxi Vocational Institute of Arts and Technology in Jiangsu province
world5 days ago