Filipino didn't pay my salary and blocked me
I got a job as a video editor and channel manager through Reddit.
The salary was supposed to be paid monthly, but I asked if I could be paid weekly. He agreed to pay me after the 3rd week instead. Everything seemed genuine and professional. The workflow was organized, the way he managed things looked professional, and it appeared that they had been doing this for a long time. They even gave me access to a paid AI voice generation tool.
I'm not usually gullible, so I researched similar job posts on Reddit. I found multiple users posting similar hiring offers. I checked their accounts and they all appeared genuine. I couldn't find anyone claiming they had been scammed. The accounts belonged to different people from different countries such as Latvia, the Philippines, and India. Because of this research, along with the paid tool access, I believed it was legitimate work.
As the 3rd week was approaching, I asked him whether he would pay me on the agreed date. He replied that he was traveling and would give me a payment date later. A few days later, I asked again, and he repeated the same excuse. After another 2–3 days, I followed up once more, and he said he would pay me on June 10.
I then shared my payment details. After that, he didn't read my messages for two days. Eventually, he replied with an excuse saying:
"The channel got a copyright strike. I contacted X, and they asked for $2,000. That's four times your salary. I will see if I can pay you after that, out of respect."
The copyright claim was supposedly related to a compilation video. For context, I only edited the first five minutes of the video, while the remaining footage came from compilation clips that he himself had provided.
After sending that message, he blocked me without reading any further messages.
I had been suspicious for some time. During a screen-sharing session when he was trying to upload a video, I noticed some recently downloaded files on his computer. One of them contained a QR code. When I searched it, I found his name, designation, phone number, and email address. Using the email address, I found his LinkedIn profile and learned that he is located in the Metro Manila region of the Philippines. Based on the information I found, he appears to either work for or be associated with a company there.
My question is: how can I report this person so that he cannot scam more people in the future? Can I report him to the company he works for or somewhere else? Is there any way I can recover the money he owes me?
I suspect that many Reddit hiring operations are managed by people who receive funds from channel owners and then pay editors. In this case, however, this person did not pay me and appears to have intentionally scammed me.
His mobile/WhatsApp number: +63 975 267 1886.
The amount he owes me - 650 usd
this is what i get after scanning the QR (probably the scammer or associated with it)
