Filipino's with OFW Friends and Families Abroad, BEWARE !!!

Filipino's with OFW Friends and Families Abroad, BEWARE !!!

Last Saturday ( August 8, 2009 ) , I received a text message from an unknown number. (+639194340595)

"Eto bagong roaming ko, na-block kase yung dati. Kumusta na kau dyan? Magpapadala ako ng package next week, sana magustuhan niyo. Miss na miss ko na kayo. "

This is my new roaming contact the number, the first one got blocked. I will send a package next week, I hope you would like them. I really really miss all of you.

Stupid me, I assumed he was my friend Roemm who works in Saudi Arabia. I got pretty excited so I did not notice the difference in the way he exchange text messages with me. After a few hi and hello's he offered me a business. We would sell prepaid cards. He told me that a 500 prepaid card here costs around 1500.00 pesos there. Imagine 200% profit. A very feasible business. I would send him the pin number of the cards everytime someone buys a card from him and he would later on send the payment and my profit share through Western Union. I did not had money for capital that time. I'm always broke, so he told me to look for a capital so we can start on our business.

Every day I have been receiving text messages from him asking if I had already prepared funds for our business. This felt weird because he was always talking about the money not bothering to say his regards to my family and my boyfriend. Looking back on his messages, they were all around 7am-8am.The Philippines and Saudi Arabia has a 5 hour difference in time zone, so why is he always awake during wee hours in the morning?

So today I have decided to call him on his local number abroad (which costs 20 pesos per minute which explains why I did not call him the first time he send me a text message ).

Roemm answered the phone like a guy who was disturbed from deep sleep.He asked who I was and talked to me like he did not understand what was happening, he yawned and talked like he was still asleep. I told him about the text message and he told me that his roaming number did not got blocked. He seems to be still sleepy (it was 4am there) so I just told him I would tell him the story later this day through our Yahoo Messager.

Thank God I did not had money, if I had, I might have been a victim of this scammer.

After the conversation, I send a message to the phoney guy telling him that I can't find funds for our business. I asked him to send me money instead so that I can buy the prepaid cards. He said he doesn't have money right now. I told him that I was having a hard time funding the business because my older brother ( i did not have one) had cancer and my father who works at the NBI ( my father is a farmer ) does not have extra money to lend me.

He never replied after that.

I would like to take this opportunity to spread this incident to fellow Filipino's who have families and friends abroad. Be aware. Spending 60 pesos for a 3 minute call to call your love ones is much better than splurging money on a business that was a scam after all.

I would also like to thank God. I know I am in deep financial trouble right now, but If I was not broke, I might have lost 5000 pesos or more in the hands of scammers.

God moves in mysterious ways.
Everything has a reason.
So when life seems to hard to bare,
just pray.
God has a purpose for everthing.