Thanks toting bunye for the part 2
Last week, I discussed several scams which the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has repeatedly warned against. These included text scams, Nigerian scams, job scams online, phishing, identity theft and credit card skimming. I will continue the list with Spoofing, which involves the creation of unauthorized websites mimicking legitimate websites for the purpose of deceiving unwitting victims to the site and asking them to log in. As soon as a victim logs in, the scammer is provided with authentication information that he can use to enter the legitimate website of the victim's financial institution to perform unauthorized transactions.
Ponzi Schemes, on the other hand, offer very attractive investment schemes in the form of unusually high, consistent, short-term returns that other investments cannot match in order to attract new investors. The people behind Ponzi schemes pay returns to investors from their own money or from the money paid by subsequent investors rather than from any actual profit earned.
In order to maintain the exorbitant returns they advertise and pay, Ponzi scammers ensure an ever-increasing and unending flow of money by tricking more and more new investors.
''Dugo-dugo'' or ''Budol-Budol'' scams are used interchangeably but are actually two different modes of operations.
''Dugo-dugo'' scams involve members of criminal organizations calling a victim and informing him that a loved one has been kidnapped or has been hurt.
The caller will instruct the victim to make a money transfer to a stranger in exchange for the safety of the alleged kidnapped loved one or pay for his medical expenses.
Gangs involved in the ''Budol-Budol'' scheme sell or pawn to prospective victims seemingly valuable but actually worthless items in exchange for cash or other valuable property. What are the warning signs of such fraudulent activities? The BSP's Financial Consumer Affairs Group (FCAG) advises caution under any of the following circumstances:
• You have just been informed that you won in a lottery or in a raffle that you do not remember joining;
• You are told to act immediately or lose the opportunity;
• You have been ''selected'' to receive a special offer, incentive or free gift;
• You have been informed that in order to receive the prize, you must pay for the shipping first;
• You have been promised a risk-free or 100-percent guaranteed return on an investment;
• You have been asked to give your personal information such as bank account information, credit card numbers, PIN and passwords;
• The institution in question does not provide written records or information;
• The institution is not registered with or is not regulated by any regulating body like the BSP, Insurance Commission or the Securities and Exchange Commission;
• You were provided only with a mobile number as contact information; and
• The offer provides testimonials that you have no way to check out.
