There was already scamming even during the time of Creation – with the serpent in the garden of Eden as the original scammer.
Here in the Philippines, scamming was so rampant even in the old days that this inspired comedians Pugo and Tugo to make classic sketches revolving around scams in the plots of their films.
Oh, there were a lot of colloquial terms for it: Na-onse, naisahan, and na-goyo. But the most popular was na-1-2-3.
Growing up in the city, my equally citified mother taught us kids the importance of alertness. Alisto! That word never left my consciousness. I learned to be alert every time I had to navigate the city streets.
It was easier back then since there used to be only two criminal elements in broad day light – and this was before the invention of cellular phones: Pickpockets and snatchers of ladies’ purses and accessories. The male wasn’t any safer. He was poked with an ice pick to surrender his wallet and wristwatch.
A popular scam that time was inveigling a commuter waiting for a ride to swap his wristwatch or gold ring with a bundle of cash that, of course, was just shredded newspaper.
We were briefed by our parents regarding all the modus operandi employed by people out to do no good during those days of our youth. For instance, they frowned on the idea of buying religious icons from traveling salesmen. Those miniature statues in plaster of paris, for one, were badly crafted. Manilans who wanted to purchase images of saints got those from Catholic Trade in Tayuman in Manila.
Vending religious items wasn’t exactly a crime. But my father thought that those itinerant vendors were misrepresenting themselves – pretending they were from the church and were sent to raise funds for the parish. My parents always believed that if you were to conduct business with anyone – even for something as simple as a religious article – make sure there was transparency in the negotiations.
Those sellers of religious images sometimes knocked on your door. But mostly, they posted themselves on the busy streets of Manila. With the mushrooming of malls today, scammers now ply their trade in the air-conditioned comfort of shopping centers.
Veteran actress Perla Bautista became a victim of an organized group of scammers 15 years ago. Still very fit, it had become her habit to walk from her Mandaluyong home (in a street off EDSA) to Shangri-la Mall just across.
One afternoon, while window shopping, she was approached by some well-dressed people. They recognized her as the actress, of course. They even invited her to snack with them at the food court.
But after the meal, they managed to convince her to withdraw from her ATM. It was like she was hypnotized. Luckily, all that was in her ATM that time was P4,000. Since she was in a daze, the con artists were thoughtful enough to give her P20 and put her in a tricycle that brought her home.
Caridad Sanchez, who prides herself as street-smart, sadly, was another scam victim. Some two decades ago, she chanced upon a young man in his twenties asking for alms.
At that age, she could have easily told him to find work, except that this man moved around paddling with both hands while atop a wooden platform on wheels. It’s the typical means of transportation used by amputees to get from one place to the next.
Considering the fact that her name is Caridad, which means charity, it wasn’t surprising that she always prepared a P20 bill to give to this pitiful man every time she passed by the area where he was posted.
In a week’s time, she’d probably pass by that place thrice or even five times a week. That went on for more than a year. Sometimes, she’d even give him P100.
But the day came when she drove by and saw this same young man playing basketball! He had two strong legs – both functioning. He just folded them by the knees and positioned himself on his platform on wheels and pretended to be a paraplegic.
Move over, Annabelle Rama, but Caridad Sanchez was the original feisty Bisaya. She got off her car, stopped the game and let out all the cuss words in the vernacular that she picked up since she moved to the city in the late 1950s.
Yes, people who will try to put one over the other are all over the streets of the metropolis. But, sadly, we still have to be on alert mode even at home. The landline used to be the scammers’ most accessible link to a lot of unsuspecting households. The script hardly changed in the last 40 years: The mistress of the house supposedly met an accident and is in critical condition. Could the house help please hurry and pry open the safe and bring all its contents to a specified location?
And now that we in the digital age, scammers have also gone high-tech. Is there a week that passes without you getting a text message from some stranger who accidentally sent you a P300 load and asking you to send it back by typing the digits 300?
Or what about those who tell you the good news about how you have won a prize and how you can claim it by providing personal information?
The media has been doing its part by reminding the public about the latest modus in scamming. Oddly enough, even a newspaper editor recently became a scam victim. No, it wasn’t him, but his reporter friends (yes, the very people who tell us to watch out for scammers).
How did this happen? Well, the editor’s Facebook account was hacked and was used to solicit donations from friends who were all worried about him because “he tested positive for COVID-19 and was in the hospital.” That fake fund drive was able to raise at least P50,000.
Thank heavens, I don’t have an active Facebook account. But the other week, I got a call from somebody who identified herself as an employee of one of the banks I currently maintain. The caller said that since I was a valued client, I was now eligible to make a personal loan from the bank.
Valued client? Maybe I used to be, except that I took out a lot of my investment there to build a house. Well, there is a little left of it there, but not substantial enough for me to be labeled as a valued client.
When the caller asked if I was interested in making a personal loan, I said no. But she pressed on. May I know why so?
My answer was simple: If they truly consider me a valued client, then I should have a lot of money in their bank. Now, if I had a lot of money, then why would i want to borrow from them?
Although I was pleased with my response, I began to panic when I realized that this person knew my phone number and account name, which only the bank manager knows and no one else. What freaked me out was when I found out that the bank doesn’t even offer personal loans.
Gulp! Was this caller out to filch whatever little money I have in my account? I reported this incident to the bank and the case is now currently under investigation.
When I told friends about what happened, they weren’t surprised. Other bank clients had been wiped clean by scammers using various methods.
Unfortunately, there is now so much wickedness out there. I would understand if people stole to feed a starving family. But there had been so many cases when scammers go out on the prowl just to buy the latest gadgets. And there are those who sell their souls to the devil in exchange for P300 worth of load.
But what is truly amazing is the fact that those scammers never run out of ideas to steal from other people. If only they could use such ingenuity and creativeness to better use, then we would all be living in a perfect and kinder world.
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The Butcher | SCAM!
Source: Pinoy Ako News
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