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Fastest growing hotspot for scams: Sen. Risa Hontiveros expresses alarm over reports that the Philippines is becoming one of the fastest growing hotspots for scams in the world. Hontiveros, who presided over a public inquiry conducted by the Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality, on human trafficking and cyber fraud operations Tuesday, May 7, 2024, said information from the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) revealed that almost all large-scale investigations on cyberfraud and cyberscams in the world has a traceable connection to the Philippines. “Scams, national security threats, human trafficking are all mixed up. If these scam hubs are so lucrative, it won't stop. This will just grow and grow. And before we know it, we will be faced with a threat to our national security like nothing we have ever seen before,” Hontiveros warned. She said PAOCC information revealed that Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) are also operating scam hubs, citing a large modern complex in Bamban, Tarlac as an example. Hontiveros said the committee has invited the Bamban mayor, who was linked to the scam hub operation, to shed light on the matter. The lady senator also raised alarm over reports that Chinese nationals with Filipino identity documents are buying large tracts of land around Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites. (Bibo Nueva España/Senate PRIB)