​THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) has issued a warning against a money transfer scam using the name of Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado. ​Immigration spokesman Dana Sandoval said Thursday the scheme was discovered after a failed attempt to dupe the head of a BI provincial office. “Based on the report, the syndicate’s target victims are provincial-based immigration officers,” she said. ​According to the report, the head of the BI office received a message from an individual claiming to be from the office of a high-ranking government official. ​Thereafter, the BI employee received further instruction from the scammer to download the Signal messaging platform, followed by several more messages from an account bearing Viado’s details. ​The supposed commissioner instructed the employee to facilitate the transfer of P50,000 to a digital bank account allegedly belonging to a foundation, claiming it was a pledge he had forgotten to send for an activity. The sender assured that the amount would be reimbursed after a meeting with the secretary of justice.​ The employee, however, verified the legitimacy of the request through proper channels and confirmed that the commissioner had not issued any such instruction. It was later determined that unscrupulous individuals are attempting to impersonate the commissioner to scam BI personnel. The individual continued to demand updates on the supposed deposit and even issued veiled threats, claiming he would personally go to the employee’s office if his instructions were not followed.​ According to Sandoval, the BI chief categorically denied authorizing any such request. ​“The Bureau of Immigration will never solicit or instruct any employee to transfer personal funds for donations, pledges, or any activity through private messaging applications,” Viado said. “This is clearly a scam using my name.” ​The BI has referred the matter to the appropriate authorities for investigation and the possible filing of criminal charges against those responsible. ​The BI also reminded the public that official communications from bureau officials are coursed through proper and verifiable channels. Any suspicious message requesting money, personal information, or urgent financial transactions should be reported to BI management and law enforcement authorities immediately.