4 more victims of ‘fake departure stamp’ scheme intercepted at NAIA

THE Bureau of Immigration yesterday said four more victims of the “fake departure stamp” scheme have been intercepted by its officers.

Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said officers at NAIA Terminal 3 intercepted last August 31 a 40-year-old male attempting to board a Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong after he presented a passport marked with a “suspicious immigration departure stamp.”

Tansingco said the passenger later admitted that he was offered work by a female recruiter he met on Facebook, adding that his recruiter demanded P120,000 as processing fee and promised that he could bypass immigration smoothly without being detected.

“That evening, officers stopped three more trafficking victims—a 32-year-old female, a 27-year-old female, and a 24-year-old male—before they could board a Jetstar flight to Singapore, due to suspicious stamps in their passports,” he said.

He said the three told immigration officers they were bound for Cambodia as tourists but later admitted they had been recruited to work as call center agents, with a P50,000 salary for a 12-hour shift.

Tansingco said the four may have been recruited to work in scam hubs abroad that pose as call centers.

“Similar to the previous schemes, recruiters directed their victims to meet a supposed contact at a fastfood chain inside NAIA Terminal 3. This contact would typically take the victims’ passports and boarding passes, then return them with counterfeit stamps,” the BI chief said.

He said the recent interceptions showed that syndicates offering fake documentation are active again.

“These syndicates give false promises of greener pastures,” said Tansingco. “Despite their appealing facade, their exploitative practices can lead to serious repercussions,” he added.

All four victims have been turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking.