DILIMAN, Quezon City — Government authorities are warning the public against text scams being perpetuated allegedly by ‘guerilla operations’ of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) despite their shutdown on the expressed order of President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr.

According to information and communication technology secretary Ivan John Uy, text scammers are said to be operating in 'guerilla operations' in POGOs guised as legitimate businesses like resorts, call centers and other similar establishments.

Secretary Uy made the disclosure during a joint press conference at Camp Crame, where the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP ACG) announced the arrest of a Malaysian national for selling an illegal text-blasting machine online.

“Since POGOs have been banned and their networks have been disassembled, they have gone into what we call guerilla operations. They’ve shrunk, they’ve become smaller teams and spread out, that’s where they are now,” the info-comm chief cited.

“Before, these scammers, they used POGO facilities, so they were in big buildings… They used to occupy huge buildings with a lot of people and then they operate from there,” he added.