ILOILO – The Police Regional Office (PRO) Western Visayas warns the public of the continuous modus of people who are using Short Messaging Service (SMS) and e-mails to ask for load and money.
“Based on the record, there are four ways in which the scam is used,” PCol. Joem Malong, PRO6 Public Information Officer (PIO), said.
Police identified the aforesaid modus as load scam, electronic raffle, NPA extortion, and Budolbudol text.
The load scam, according to Malong, happens when the suspect pretends to be a known person, usually an elected official, then tricks his or her victim by showing interest in the latter’s product and after an exhange of conversation, the suspect asks for a load.
Malong likewise confirmed that several names of the region’s police officials have been used in this scam, namely Police Regional Office Director Police Brig. Gen. Rene Pamuspusan, Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) Director PCol Martin Defensor Jr., and Iloilo Provincial Police Office (IPPO) Director PCol Roland Vilela.
Furthermore, Malong expressed that electronic raffle refers to a common modus where the suspect texts his or her victim a “congratulatory message” that tells the latter that he or she won a raffle draw.
New People’s Army (NPA) extortion also happens, in which a suspect pretends to be a member of NPA and texts or calls a victim to get money he or she wants.
Finally, Malong noted cases of Budolbudol text in which the supect pretends to be a member of a certain family, then informs that he or she is in an accident, and asks for a load.
“First is, dapat i-ignore naton ang amo ni nga modus. Ang red flag naton is, if may ginpangayo siya nga something that involves money kag indi mo maidentify ang tawo nga na or maestablish ang iya personality, it’s a signal for you nga scam na ina,” Malong said.
Additionaly, Malong reminds public to seek help from the nearest police station or drop a report on PRO6 Facebook page for an immediate action.
