re: Trying to help a friend in The Philippines...

A good rule of thumb in dealing with any situation is that if someone asks for money up-front, it's a scam. How did she find this job? Did she go out looking for it or was it unsolicited? Usually anything unsolicited is going to be a scam.

The person hiring her is supposed to be paying her to come work for him. If there's some type of license involved or whatever bullshite they're trying coming up with, wouldn't you think the employer would cover that?

Also, some countries require that you be in-country to get a work visa but there are ways around it if you pay someone. If they're using that as an excuse, tell her to tell them that she'll travel there as a tourist (US citizens don't need a visa for anything less than 30 days) and she'll get the work visa herself.

As far as plane tickets, etc. she can buy that herself. Someone trying to scam her would come up with some reason why she should send them money for the travel expenses and if she questions it they'll just move on to the next mark. They're not going to drag it on by letting her buy the tickets, etc. herself because there's no way for them to profit.