NBI-6 warns public vs social network scams

ILOILO City – Beware of scams on social networking platforms such as Facebook.

Some online conmen could bleed you financially dry, said Special Investigator III Rojun Hosillos of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Region 6.

An elderly man filed a complaint at NBI-6 on Thursday last week after having been victimized by an online scammer – a woman who claimed to be based from abroad and managed to get his trust and confidence after a certain period online contact.

The woman claimed she had sent a package – supposedly containing US$1 million cash – to the man and he should wait for its arrival.

A few days after, the man got a call from a “Customs personnel” who claimed the bureau already had the package but could not release it due to some hitches but that this could be remedied through some payments.

According to Hosillos, the victim deposited a total of P90,000 in a bank in two transactions (P30,000 then P60,000) so he could get the package.

After he made the two bank deposits, no “Customs personnel” called him up again about the package. His woman girlfriend also stopped contacting him online.

“They will demand more money and more money until you bleed financially. They are operating on our greed,” said Hosillos.

Online scammers target no particular age group, he added.

In the complaint’s case, said Hosillos, NBI-6 coordinated with the bank where the deposits were made but the bank secrecy law was making it difficult for the man to recover his money and trace the persons who owned the bank account.

“In previous similar cases that reached our office, bank accounts were created with fake identities,” said Hosillos.

Don’t easily trust online strangers, he advised the public.

“We hardly entertain strangers wanting to enter hour homes so why even bother with online strangers. The general rule is if it is too good to be true, it must be bad,” he said.

Hosillos urged victims of online scams to immediately get in touch with the NBI or Philippine National Police.
He also said minimizing one’s greed also reduces the possibility of being victimized online. (With a report from the Philippine News Agency/PN)