Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco warned the public on Thursday about scammers offering immigration services on social media.
This warning comes after Movement for Restoration of Peace and Order chairperson Ka Kuen Chua testified during a Senate Public Order and Dangerous Drugs Committee hearing that there are offers on social media that charge P1 million to P5 million pesos to lift immigration blacklists.
The BI chief said that they have observed that this scam proliferates not only on Facebook but also on other messaging platforms such as WeChat, and there are even some accounts that pretend to be immigration lawyers and legal officers. They create profiles using photos of their employees, their badges, or even the logo of the bureau.
Tansingco added that this is a similar warning issued in September 2022 by the Bureau when they received reports of fake employees offering illegal services on social media.
He also stated that this is a recurring scam that pops up every now and then, and they warn the public not to engage with these scammers to avoid being victimized. They advised the public to immediately report online scams to the Bureau of Immigration or other law enforcement agencies.