Ateneo student loses P3-M valuables to con men

MANILA, Philippines - A student of the Ateneo de Manila University fell victim to con artists who convinced her to give them more than P3 million worth of valuables owned by her family.

Maria Lovely Menguito, 19, a philosophy student, told police she was home when a woman called their phone at past 5 p.m. and claimed her mother was in the hospital after being hurt in a two-vehicle collision.

The caller said Menguito’s mother could not talk on the phone because of the injuries she sustained. She convinced the teenager to get her family’s valuables as her mother needed money for the hospital bill.

Menguito said she was told to go to Pasay City, where she handed over the valuables – an Omega and an IWC watch worth P1 million each; two Rolex watches, P700,000; a P250,000 diamond ring; a P30,000 iPhone; a P40,000 Lacoste bag; a gold bracelet and two diamond bracelets – to a man waiting for her at a hotel.

Menguito said when she got home, she found that her mother had not been involved in any accident.