67 Chinese in Internet scam deported

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Wednesday said it has deported 67 Chinese nationals suspected of being members of an international syndicate engaged in telecommunications, Internet and credit card fraud.

Immigration Commissioner Ricardo David Jr., in a statement, said the foreigners were deported to Beijing aboard a special flight chartered by the Chinese Embassy in Manila.

David said all 67 Chinese nationals were placed on the immigration blacklist, thus banning them from re-entering the Philippines.

He added that the deportees were expelled pursuant to a summary deportation order that the bureau’s board of commissioners issued against them on September 28.

“They were deported for being undocumented aliens, which stemmed from the cancellation of their passports by the Chinese government,” the immigration chief said.

The Chinese were arrested last week by immigration agents who raided two houses in Manila the group had used as their base of operations, the bureau’s investigation chief Arvin Santos said.

“They operate like call center agents and contact prospective customers in China and Taiwan who they then convince to buy various goods and services and pay by credit card online,” Santos said in a statement.

“Once the money comes in, it is diverted to the syndicate’s bank account.”

Santos said the Chinese embassy in the Philippines tipped local authorities off about the syndicate, which he said recruited the 67 with promises of high-paying jobs in Manila.

The deportation came after the Philippines in February sent 14 Taiwanese involved in a similar scam to China, triggering a diplomatic spat with the Taipei.

Taiwan retaliated by imposing strict requirements on thousands of Filipino workers, but eased the sanctions after the Philippines sent a special envoy and China sent the group back to Taipei.

Santos said the 67 deported last week were all from mainland China, and not Taiwan. With Jerome Aning

Originally posted at 11:52 am | Wednesday, October 05, 2011