DFA warns OFWs in Austria vs text scams
Posted on September 24th, 2009
Text scams informing the recipient of winning big money in a lottery that he never joined is no longer exclusive to Filipinos here in the Philippines. Perpetrators of this text scams are also targeting overseas Filipino workers.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) warned OFWs in Austria, as well as in other countries, to be wary of text messages that they received claiming that they had won a large amount of money in an electronic lottery or raffle.
In the warning issued, the DFA said they have learned that those who responded to the message were asked to transmit money as a requirement before they can get their so-called prizes. The money was supposed to be payment for taxes, remittance charges, or as donation.
The department said they have a report from the Philippine Embassy in Vienna. The embassy reported that scammers even use public institutions like the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), and names of well known public officials like BSP Governor Amando Tentangco Jr. and Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Sixto Esquivias in luring their unsuspecting victims.
Also in the report, the embassy said one victim came to their office and narrated how she was made to pay a fee of 4,000 Euros, or almost P260,000 for the release of her prize. She said, the prize was supposed to be settled through remittance center Western Union to a “Jerry Rivas Vidal†which later turned out to be a fictitious identity. The scammers even asked for an additional P38,900 donation as soon as the transfer has been made.
The DFA issued the warning to advise Filipinos to be cautious of the malicious schemes and to not respond to such text messages to avoid becoming victims the scams. The department added that these should be immediately reported to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the National Telecommunication Commission (NTC) for investigation.
A similar warning has also been issued in the past by Philippine embassies in other countries, notably in the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia.
