Philippine Anti-money Laundering Council Warns of Text Scam Aimed at OFWS and their Families
The Philippine Embassy
would like to inform the public of an advisory issued by the Anti-Money
Laundering Council of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) warning OFWs
and their families regarding “text scam” incidents aimed at swindling or
extorting money from Filipinos working overseas.
The BSP advisory is as follows:
The public is hereby warned about the so-called “text scam” which is a
criminal scheme whereby the victim is informed through short messaging
service or text that he won “millions” of pesos in a raffle draw
purportedly sponsored by the BSP, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes
Office (PCSO), the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR),
or other institutions. The swindlers who use fictitious names or pose as
government officials would try to get their victim to remit money to the
swindlers or to deposit it in designated bank accounts, supposedly for
the payment of tax and other fees, as a precondition to getting the
alleged prize. Once the victim remits or deposits the money, the
swindlers immediately get the same, and the victim will no longer hear
from the swindlers again.
Those who receive such text messages or have been victimized by this
fraud are advised to immediately report the matter to the Anti-Money
Laundering Council Secretariat, 5/F EDPC Building, Bangko Sentral ng
Pilipinas Complex, Manila, with telephone numbers (632) 302-3982 and
(632) 524-7011 local 2372.