6 foreigners nabbed for phone scams

MANILA, Philippines - Six foreigners were arrested in a condominium in Pasay City for their alleged involvement in at least seven different types of phone scams in the Philippines, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said yesterday.

Chinese nationals Chen Dan Dan, Ying Hang, Liao Hao, and Liao You Huang as well as Yan King Rui and Yawl Lim of Myanmar will be charged with violating the access devices law for reportedly being swindling people – usually the people from their own countries – they call on the telephone.

NBI-National Capital Region director Efren Meneses said they received a report that a unit in Garden Condominium along Macapagal Avenue is being used by “phone scammers” who are using “cross boundary deception methods” to lure their victims.

The “telephone deception” method has scammers assuming the identity of a victim’s relative and asking the victim to deposit money in a bank account so they could either pay off a debt or get out of jail.

In lottery scams, the victims are made to believe that they won in a lottery and are asked to deposit an “administrative fee” to a designated bank account or through a remittance firm.

Victims are tricked into providing sensitive information for online banking by phishing scammers. Another scam involves the sale of “fake” electronic parts at a “discounted price.”

Meneses said the suspects will be charged before the Pasay City prosecutor’s office.