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Woman duped by 'Facebook sweetheart' loses millions, house
The Bureau of Customs has listed 48 victims of this particular 'Internet love scam' nationwide from January to July of this year.
| ANC - Sat, Aug 16, 2014
A 58-year-old woman now has a debt of P5 million after being scammed by her so-called "Facebook boyfriend."
Past life: Comfortable and happy but lonely
Maricel (not her real name) said she used to run a successful money lending business that allowed her to send her three kids to school. "Nagpapautang ako ng pera sa mga pulis at sundalo at civilian din. Basta lumapit," she said.
With her earnings, she bought a house, empty lot and car for the family.
But Maricel, who was a single parent, wanted more.
Her dream, she said, was to find a rich foreigner and marry him.
Love via Facebook
In 2011, an alleged foreigner from London identifying himself as "George" befriended her on the social networking site Facebook.
"George" started courting Maricel, saying that he wanted to come to the Philippines and marry her.
Maricel was ecstatic. She thought she was going to have everything she ever wanted.
The scam
Aside from pledging devotion to Maricel, George also implied that he had the means to give her a life of luxury.
"May pera daw siya...$2.5 million. Sa pera natin 112 million pesos," she said in an interview on ABS-CBN's Bistado.
One day, Maricel got a private message on Facebook that said George was hospitalized and was in a coma.
A "friend" of George said the foreigner left his money to Maricel. The catch: she had to send 60,000 pesos to get the money.
Several people then contacted her and said George had sent two boxes to her.
"Nakipagkita pa ako sa Malate. Ang kailangan daw P675,000," she said.
Maricel said she kept paying via money transfer in the hopes that she would get the alleged boxes sent by George. She also started pawning her things.
"Mga alahas, mga gamit sa bahay. Kulang kulang P3 million. May interes pa yun aabot na ng P5 milyon," she said.
Losing everything
Jenny, one of Maricel's daughters, said they only found out about the scam when their mother said she had pawned the house. "Nakasangla daw yung bahay. Siyempre nakakapanghinayang," she said.
Maricel and her family are now taking steps to try to trace George and are hoping to possibly recover the money lost.
Warning to Pinoys
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has so far listed 48 victims of the Internet love scam nationwide from January to July of this year.
The BOC said most of the victims are women, and most of the email senders supposedly come from Australia, United Kingdom and United States.
"Perpetrators usually get in touch with prospective victims online via chat or dating websites. After constantly communicating online for several weeks or even months, the perpetrators would send a message to their victims through email, promising to send gifts ranging from luxury bags, jewelry, laptop computers and other electronic gadgets via international door-to-door parcel," it said.
The unsuspecting victims would then be given a tracking number and invoice for the supposed shipment.
A few days after, they would receive an email allegedly coming from the BOC, informing them that packages would be sent to them after they pay duties and taxes to be deposited in a designated bank account or money transfer service.
However, after depositing the money, the victims would never get their packages.
"Please be advised that the Bureau of Customs does not give assessments and computations of duties and taxes by email. These are computed and written on official BOC document. Customs duties and taxes due payable only to the Bureau of Customs and not through any bank," the BOC said.
The BOC advised the public to inquire first through their public assistance contact channels before depositing any money -- landline: +632 9173201, email: [email protected], and Twitter: @CustomsPH.
Source: Yahoo! Philippines ANC
Source Link:
The Bureau of Customs has listed 48 victims of this particular 'Internet love scam' nationwide from January to July of this year.
| ANC - Sat, Aug 16, 2014
A 58-year-old woman now has a debt of P5 million after being scammed by her so-called "Facebook boyfriend."
Past life: Comfortable and happy but lonely
Maricel (not her real name) said she used to run a successful money lending business that allowed her to send her three kids to school. "Nagpapautang ako ng pera sa mga pulis at sundalo at civilian din. Basta lumapit," she said.
With her earnings, she bought a house, empty lot and car for the family.
But Maricel, who was a single parent, wanted more.
Her dream, she said, was to find a rich foreigner and marry him.
Love via Facebook
In 2011, an alleged foreigner from London identifying himself as "George" befriended her on the social networking site Facebook.
"George" started courting Maricel, saying that he wanted to come to the Philippines and marry her.
Maricel was ecstatic. She thought she was going to have everything she ever wanted.
The scam
Aside from pledging devotion to Maricel, George also implied that he had the means to give her a life of luxury.
"May pera daw siya...$2.5 million. Sa pera natin 112 million pesos," she said in an interview on ABS-CBN's Bistado.
One day, Maricel got a private message on Facebook that said George was hospitalized and was in a coma.
A "friend" of George said the foreigner left his money to Maricel. The catch: she had to send 60,000 pesos to get the money.
Several people then contacted her and said George had sent two boxes to her.
"Nakipagkita pa ako sa Malate. Ang kailangan daw P675,000," she said.
Maricel said she kept paying via money transfer in the hopes that she would get the alleged boxes sent by George. She also started pawning her things.
"Mga alahas, mga gamit sa bahay. Kulang kulang P3 million. May interes pa yun aabot na ng P5 milyon," she said.
Losing everything
Jenny, one of Maricel's daughters, said they only found out about the scam when their mother said she had pawned the house. "Nakasangla daw yung bahay. Siyempre nakakapanghinayang," she said.
Maricel and her family are now taking steps to try to trace George and are hoping to possibly recover the money lost.
Warning to Pinoys
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has so far listed 48 victims of the Internet love scam nationwide from January to July of this year.
The BOC said most of the victims are women, and most of the email senders supposedly come from Australia, United Kingdom and United States.
"Perpetrators usually get in touch with prospective victims online via chat or dating websites. After constantly communicating online for several weeks or even months, the perpetrators would send a message to their victims through email, promising to send gifts ranging from luxury bags, jewelry, laptop computers and other electronic gadgets via international door-to-door parcel," it said.
The unsuspecting victims would then be given a tracking number and invoice for the supposed shipment.
A few days after, they would receive an email allegedly coming from the BOC, informing them that packages would be sent to them after they pay duties and taxes to be deposited in a designated bank account or money transfer service.
However, after depositing the money, the victims would never get their packages.
"Please be advised that the Bureau of Customs does not give assessments and computations of duties and taxes by email. These are computed and written on official BOC document. Customs duties and taxes due payable only to the Bureau of Customs and not through any bank," the BOC said.
The BOC advised the public to inquire first through their public assistance contact channels before depositing any money -- landline: +632 9173201, email: [email protected], and Twitter: @CustomsPH.
Source: Yahoo! Philippines ANC
Source Link:
