Scam Alert: Dugo dugo gang

(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.

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