The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) will investigate the reported viral Cebu-based scam hub exposed in a YouTube video.

YouTube Content creator "mrwn", known for allegedly hacking CCTV footage of scamming call centers in parts of the world, posted a video on May 18, exposing Filipino scammers conducting these activities that went viral on social media.

In an online press conference, Assistant Information and Communications Technology Secretary and CICC Custodian Renato Paraiso said the YouTube video has provided them with good leads on this scam hub.

"We have several persons of interest already that we would pursue our investigation and hopefully, we can attribute certain crimes to them, get their locations, and apprehend them," Paraiso said.

Paraiso said the viral scam hub is an international scam hub based in Cebu composed of Filipino employees targeting victims outside the Philippines, particularly in South Africa, through an investment scam.

DICT-CICC will coordinate with the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to apprehend the suspects and build a case against this scam hub.

"We should not stop with an apprehension. We are not after the disruption of their illegal activities. We are after accountability," Paraiso said.

"We can only put a stop to these scam hubs if we put people behind bars," he added. Kate Christian Ravelo/DMS