Text scam victimizes farmer’s wife

A farmer’s widow from Iloilo who received a text message saying she had won a P950,000 raffle prize from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) pawned her small farmland property to pay for the boat fare to Manila, only to be told that the message was a hoax.

Lydia dela Torre, 51, is one of the victims of an organized text scam syndicate that targets mostly overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

Actual damages to victims could reach P10 million, according to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

Dela Torre said that she was told to collect her prize money from a certain Atty. William Gomez, who reportedly asked her to buy seven prepaid Smart and Globe cards each and text the electronic PINs (personal identification numbers) to him.

Gomez allegedly also asked her to prepare P15,000 for "tax and other expenses" and meet him at Room 301 of the BSP office to claim her prize. But there is no Mr. Gomez working at BSP; the room instead houses the International Department.

Dela Torre said that using Smart prepaid number 0921-9843930, Gomez had sent her a text message that the auditors of the Philippine Charity Foundation wished to inform her she had won P950,000 in a raffle conducted by the BSP. When she called the number, she was told that her raffle prize would be deposited in her bank account as was asked for her automated teller machine (ATM) card number, but she would have to meet Gomez first at the BSP.

The authorities tried to call the prepaid number but the SIM card was no longer operating. — Donnabelle Gatdula