6 Filipino trafficking victims rescued from love scam op in Myanmar By GMA Integrated News

Six Filipino victims of human trafficking have been rescued from a love scam operation in Myanmar. advertisement According to Marisol Abdurahman's report on "24 Oras", the victims told of getting hit with a pipe on different parts of the body, tied with a wire, and being made to stand for 24 hours. The victims said they were lured by recruiters offering legitimate jobs on social media. Instead, they found themselves being used as bait for love scams. “Nang i-scam po kami using dating sites sa US. Lahat po ng transaksyon namin ay pinapadaan po namin sa cryptocurrency,” another victim said. (We scammed people using dating sites in the US. All our transactions go through cryptocurrency.) Authorities said this was also done to other human trafficking victims in Southeast Asia including the recently reported in Clark, Pampanga. They said that they were targeting foreign nationals who were “lonely and financially independent.” “European, Australian or Americans. Lonely and financially independent. Paiibigin nila yung mga kalalakihang ito ngayon kapag nahulog na yung loob sa kanila, dun na nila dadahan dahanin,” Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) Director Winston Casio said. —Richa Noriega/NB, GMA Integrated News

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