PM Pushes Stronger Laws After BPO Scam Exposé

Tonight, a News Five investigation is putting renewed pressure on government to act. We were the first to expose a sophisticated credit card scam tied to Belize’s BPO sector, an operation that has left businesses counting their losses. Our reporting uncovered multiple victims and included rare insight from a former BPO employee who admitted to stealing dozens of credit card information. Now, the Prime Minister says Belize’s laws don’t go far enough to stop these crimes and agrees it’s time for tougher, targeted legislation to go after scammers head‑on.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“And we need to go after anyone that is scamming, not only our citizens but people outside of Belize from these BPOs. We have to be grateful to the BPO industry that presently the are providing over twenty thousand jobs. Salaries have surpassed a hundred and fifty million dollars a year. So we need to protect them. We need to ensure they can feel safe operating here. Whatever the problem may be, we need to look into it. Lee Mark Chang I consider him a friend, even though we are from different sides. But he ahs never called me and complain and what we can do. I know one or two persons have spoken to me that they have spoken to police. But I think we need to put more in place, how is it that we can go after these scammers and we need to go after them to the full extent of the law.”

 

The Prime Minister says scammers targeting the BPO sector must be dealt with firmly, not just to protect victims, but to safeguard an industry that employs thousands of Belizeans. He agrees current laws fall short and says tougher legislation is needed to go after offenders to the full extent of the law.