A new modus

The Philippine National Police has warned about a new scam that has already claimed several victims. The scam involves the Philippine Postal Service (Philpost). It starts with a call with a recorded message followed by an actual person from “Philpost” asking if a package was sent or is being expected. Then comes the scare tactic of saying the package (whether sent or received, falsely, of course) contains contraband or prohibited items like bank cards, ATM cards, or even passports supposedly used in money laundering. The call is then handed over to a “police officer” who proceeds to scare the victim even more with large fines and even imprisonment.

To fix the problem, the victim must go to “a Philpost branch in Cebu”. Most of the victims are not from Cebu so an arrangement to pay for bonds online is suggested. Now that the victim is scared out of his or her wits, a bond in the amount of ?50,000 or more is paid. Goodbye to your money as the scam succeeds. The PNP added most of the victims were well off or in other words, rich. I suppose for them to pay ?50,000 easily, they must be rich.

First, I don’t believe Philpost will go through the trouble of calling someone if an issue with a package exists. They will most likely send a notice or letter informing them of the errant package. Or if the issue is criminal in nature, a police officer shows up at your door. Second, the part of requiring going to Cebu is ridiculous when there are many Philpost offices nationwide. If a package was allegedly sent by you or received for you, then the Philpost office where the package was received would be the branch handling the issue.

This scam succeeds because of the severe scare tactics and providing a solution inaccessible to the victim, in this case having to go to Cebu. Another thing I noticed is the use of the landline. Since all SIM cards now require registration with the government, scammers are returning to the landline. Philpost should investigate this and coordinate with the PNP.

To avoid being scammed, may I suggest the following? If you receive a recorded message supposedly from Philpost, just hang up. The PNP recommends informing authorities but what exactly can you tell them? If your landline has caller ID, and I suggest you get one if not yet available, then let them know the number the call came from. Again, I don’t believe Philpost has a recorded message feature in their system so that alone should raise red flags. If it so happens you are really expecting a package, then wait for a notice or someone knocking at your door.

We must always be on our toes against scammers. They become creative and innovative all the time. It is unfortunate there must first be victims before a new scam is made known to the public. Hopefully, the public is now well-informed of this new modus. I would like the PNP to make arrests and eventually convictions. Scammers of any kind, big or small, must be sent to prison.