Ayon kay BI Commissioner Jaime Morente, nakatanggap sila ng mga ulat ukol sa mga scammer na target ang mga pinuno ng BI provincial offices.
“These scammers would call up the office and pretend to be from the BI’s top management, often requesting cellphone load and other small favors,” pahayag ni Morente.
Tatawagan ng scammers ang mga opisina ng ahensya sa pamamagitan ng landlines at hihilingin na makausap ang “head of office”.
Pagkatapos nito, magpapanggap silang isa sa top BI official, at sasabihing bibisitahin nila ang lugar.
“The scammer would then start demanding favors, including sending load to his mobile number,” ani Morente at dagdag nito, “What these scammers don’t realize is that our office heads are immigration officers, hence they have been trained to spot inconsistencies and conduct verifications.”
Kadalasang target aniya ng modus ang newly-appointed office heads ng ahensya.
Samantala, welcome naman kay Morente ang pagkakaaresto sa hinihinalang fixer na nagpanggap na immigration employee.
“We have received information that an employee of an accredited travel agency who allegedly pretended to be a BI employee was arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Anti-Fraud Division,” saad ni Morente.
Paalala ni Morente sa publiko, huwag makipagtransaksyon sa mga fixer.
“These are scammers that are only out to deceive you. In most cases, these scammers would leave you behind once they have received the payment from you. Do not deal with them. Information about our processes including fees and procedures can be found online in our website, and we have made ways to streamline our transactions to make them easier for the transacting public,” dagdag nito.