Authorities have sent out an advisory to both Filipinos and foreigners who are lured into working for call centers that aim to exploit people in dire need of loans.
Most of the individuals enticed into these schemes are young people, promised hefty salaries in return for deceiving victims via social media platforms, particularly on TikTok and Facebook.
According to the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), on Friday, January 31, 2025, they, along with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), arrested 100 individuals during a raid on a suspected online scam farm in the Makati financial district.
The raided company, Wewill Tech Corporation, was found to be soliciting personal information from victims, including family photos and ID details, which the scammers used to intimidate their victims.
The company was discovered to be offering loans of up to P25,000 without collateral to its victims.
The borrowers were charged with a 35% weekly interest, and those who were unable to pay on time were threatened and humiliated by having their personal information published online, according to PAOCC director Gilberto Cruz.
"Some of those they harassed developed mental problems, others fell into depression, and there have even been some suicide incidents that occurred because of the harassment perpetrated by these people," Cruz added.
Those caught working for the lending company, which posed as a gaming firm, will be prosecuted for fraud and other violations of the country's cybercrime laws.
Authorities are currently investigating the nationality of the company's owners. Former Philippine online gaming operators (POGOs), which were banned by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. from operating in the Philippines, are suspected to be behind the operation.
(Photos by PAOCC)