Located in the Skyrise Building in Cebu, Philippines, a scam center disguised as a legitimate company has executed over 800,000 USD in cryptocurrency scams over the past year. However, a YouTuber specializing in exposing scams, "Mrwn", after a year of careful investigation, revealed the gang's wrongdoings and prompted the Philippine government to intervene.
YouTuber Mrwn Undercover Reveals Scam
The exposure of this scam originated from a suspicious call received by Mrwn's friend in mid-2024, offering a Quantum AI investment scheme. Mrwn immediately began an investigation, using social engineering techniques to successfully infiltrate the scam center's internal system, obtaining on-site surveillance footage and computer access. Despite the scam group's multiple office relocations, Mrwn continued to track their movements and identified two core members: "Marcus" (real name Antonio, serving as the on-site supervisor) and "Adam" (suspected alias, using an Israeli phone number).
After a year of evidence gathering, Mrwn collected numerous recordings, internal messages, and financial statements, confirming the group's annual revenue of approximately 820,000 USD, with a net profit of around 365,000 USD after deducting rent and salaries. The investigation also revealed that the scam group frequently used exchanges like Binance, Netcoin, and Coins.ph for fund transfers.
Scam Group Collapses After Direct Confrontation
In early 2025, the scam group moved to the Gallery Building in Cebu. Mrwn again breached their network protection, obtaining new office surveillance footage, and impersonated "Adam" by posting surveillance screenshots on social media, causing panic among scam members.
Subsequently, Mrwn even directly confronted the scammers through the microphone of office supervisor Antonio's laptop. As Mrwn publicly shared the camera footage, the group's members could be seen fleeing the office, with their server and monitoring system going offline the next day, indicating their operations were forcibly interrupted.
Scam Center Operation Methods Exposed
Mrwn's video garnered over 3.4 million views in a month. According to his explanation, the scam group operated under multiple names such as BMJ Data Processing Services and Virtual Wealth Exchange, leveraging the Philippines' low labor costs and English proficiency to target victims in South Africa, Nigeria, and Gulf countries.
Group members used professional scripts to sell fake crypto investment products like Quantum AI and Bitcoin Code, claiming potential weekly returns of 30% to 40% to attract investors to transfer funds.
Mrwn also exposed a 14-page script used by scam personnel: starting with a friendly greeting, gradually guiding victims to invest. They would use emotional manipulation, such as questioning whether the victim wants to remain poor forever, and impersonate local companies to build trust. Besides selling fake platforms, the scam group also stole credit card information, requesting victims to transfer money via Bit ATMs.
Philippine Government Response
Later, Mrwn submitted the investigation data to multiple Philippine government agencies, with only the Department of Justice recommending local reporting, but no case was filed due to Mrwn not being in the Philippines. However, after the video gained online attention, Assistant Secretary Renato Paraiso of the Department of Information and Communications Technology held an online press conference, promising to conduct a formal investigation, stating:
"Mrwn's investigation provides important clues. Multiple suspects are currently involved, and we will continue to investigate to determine the criminal facts and arrest the relevant personnel."
