Law enforcement agencies in the Philippines have arrested two Israelis and seven Filipinos for their alleged involvement in running a forex trading scam from an apartment in the city of Angeles.
Caught Scamming on Camera Before
Reported by the local channel 24 Oras, the Bureau of Immigration Fugitive Search Unit (BI-FSU) made the arrests last Thursday. During the raid, the individuals were caught working at rows of desktop computers.
“This group is also the one that went viral before in Cebu, where their CCTV was hacked and the activities of these scammers were caught on camera,” said BI-FSU Chief, Rendel Sy (translated form Filipino).
Digital assets meet Tradfi in London at the FMLS25.
However, the identities of the nine arrested individuals were not revealed publicly.
The group’s modus operandi was typical of scammers: they first offered a mentorship service to bait potential victims and then slowly lured them towards fake investments.
“At first, they will sell something to you or offer you mentoring to learn forex trading,” Sy added. “When you get hooked, they will send you a link or malware to control your account, and in that way, they can hack your bank accounts as well.”
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Targeting Victims from High-Income Countries
They also targeted victims multiple times to siphon off more money. Several regulators have previously flagged such re-targeting of fraud victims, often by scammers impersonating regulatory staff after the first approach.
The local report further stressed that the group’s victims were based in other countries, including Canada and Australia.
The bureau chief added that it is coordinating with the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group for further investigation. Filipino authorities are also working with Canadian and Australian counterparts.
Last month, the authorities in Malaysia raided a commercial building in the capital city, Kuala Lumpur, reportedly targeting a call centre linked to fraud and online gambling activities. On that occasion, the authorities detained or arrested more than 100 individuals.
