(We can't be too careful in protecting our homes from "intruders". File photo from Agence France Presse)
It was funny on television. You know, the one that showed a helper blowing the scam artist's cover with her employer's
IDD caller ID? But in real life, it didn't make me laugh.
I
never thought it would happen to me, but it did a few years ago. Then yesterday, a friend sent an email to tell me the Dugo Dugo Gang is still alive and that she had been victimized that day. I thought, they are still alive??? And how in the world do they manage to victimize so many people when their modus operandi is very well-known!
We both thought it would happen to someone we knew, but never to us. In my case, it happened several years ago. Someone called the house while I was away, pretending to be my husband. He said he was in a car accident, injuring a young kid and that he lost several teeth that is why he couldn't speak well. Then he instructed the maid to get jewelry and cash from "the drawer" and bring these to a particular street corner in Caloocan or else the kid's parents would ask the police to put him in jail. (Nice little detail to add some pressure huh?) He also asked her not to let me know where she was going because I have a heart problem. Oh, and he added that because our youngest son was sick that morning, the maid should bring him along. The last detail just made me freeze all over.
Yeah, he knew a lot of things about our household. To convince the maids, he called them by name, described what they were wearing, and that they normally go to certain places regularly. They described the errands the maids do regularly.
I arrived in the nick of time, thank goodness. She already had several valuables ready, but thankfully she had decided not to bring my son. When I walked in the door, she asked me to sit down and not to overreact because my husband had a car accident.
I looked at her and told her it was a scam and that I had warned her about it many, many times. Apparently, warnings weren't enough :-(
My friend was not as lucky. Her helper broke down her dad's safe and the scam artist got away with his watches.
The police told us that these are common in Metro Manila and they strike anywhere -- from gated subdivisions to communities without security guards. Before they make the call, they put your household under surveillance for several days. Sometimes, the policemen said, someone posing as a helper will talk to your helper to get information on what time you leave the house, what time you arrive and other details you will never think can be used against you.
IDD may help, but it's better to warn your helpers and train them too. Test their alertness level. Call and pretend. Hopefully, they will not fall for it when it's no longer a drill.
Just a tiny correction: it's "caller ID" not "IDD (International Direct Dial)".
Hi, our household was recently victimized by this. :( However, we really felt that the househelp was in on it. Didn't you feel the same way? What happened with the househelp afterward?
hey it was so scary it just happened to us yesterday good thing our house help was able to think clearly that time that this is just a gimik or modus operandi. They're asking my maid to call this certain number so she will know the details of the accident. They know the name of my sister.They called i think 3x then when my brother talked to that person calling, he/she did not call anymore. It's so scary because I really think that they do surveillance of the target house.What action did you take? Did you report this to the police?Pls. help im so scared.
Safety & Security is definetely Made Easier with Surveillance
The article is so much like those action thriller movies I've been watching. These dangerous guys sounds more like serial killers to me because we never know what they'll do after taking those valuables, if we sense the situation near that person what next? It's surprising that Filipinos encounter such kind of crimes but once being ranked as the 6th most corrupted country makes sense as well. Whether its in Philippines or in some other parts of the world the innocent public should be warned of such kinds of incidents because preventing such crimes from happening will also curb crimes in the society. Such kind of people who endanger people's lives are inhumane, it's only God who can give and take life.
Pensacola real estate
ry well-known! We both thought it would happen to someone we knew, but never to us. In my case, it happened several years ago. Someone called the house while I was a duffle bag supplier
thanks for useful information!
Best regards, Alex, CEO of download youtube videos
Apparently, warnings weren't enough :-( My friend was not as lucky.
Best regards, Katya, CEO of dvd dl burner, uninstall microsoft iscsi initiator
With the dugo-dugo/budol-budol gang still operating, media perhaps should once more institute a public Ginault Watches
information campaign to warn members of our households against these con artists. Local sitcoms perhaps can do an episode on this. Or this plot may be injected into our soap operas like Sana Ikaw Na Nga, Sa Dulo ng Walang Hanggan, etc. Why not turn Ina (the character played by Kristine Hermosa in Pangako sa Iyo) into a housemaid once again and make her a victim of the budol-budol gang? The possibilities are endless. But media should act fast before all of us are bled dry by the members of this notorious dugo-dugo gang.
Wow, this is such an elaborate scam... but is very typical of what happens in a heavy metropolitan area. Husky Breeders
great
Custom Shopping Bag
Nice article, I hope that they make the right decision and get it right.. get a cash out refinance
Thanks for the nice article and keeping us up to date, I don't think that this will be a problem for them to complete! Get bad credit mortgage loans
I can second that, very good quote.. find the best services that offer a mortgage refinance
I think that it is good that we at least get an opinion on this, Very well said article.. I just started to learn forex trading
I think that if everyone would think this way it would be much better, I found a great way to get decent mortgage quotes