Even cops are not spared by high-tech fraudsters

TUGUEGARAO, Philippines – Even the police are not spared by fraudsters proliferating across the Philippine archipelago.

Reports on Wednesday said the police in the northern city of Tuguegarao have sent out an alert against an individual or group claiming to be from the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and trying to defraud not just residents and employees of various government offices but also members of the city police.

Authorities said the chief of the Provincial Budget and Treasury Office of Cagayan province have complained that someone, who introduces himself as an attorney Roy Principe and an employee of DILG, has sent a SMS or text messages announcing an upcoming conference.

The message sender reportedly asks for a prepaid load for his or her mobile phone before sending the conference details.

Supt. Felix Dayag, Tuguegarao police chief, said his office has received several complaints from residents and other government offices of the same racket.

Dayag admitted that he himself received a similar text message about a conference of all chiefs-of-police in the province. Tuguegarao is the capital of Cagayan, one of the biggest provinces in the Philippines.

He said he was suspicious at first owing to the message sender’s unknown identity and when he checked the conference venue, which was supposed to be at the provincial capitol, it has not been booked at all.

Dayag said he did not send any prepaid load to the suspicious number.

A verification at the DILG central office showed that there is no lawyer or employee named Roy Principe in their roster of employees.

Police said mobile phone users should report to authorities any suspicious text messages coming from unknown numbers so that they can immediately conduct an investigation on the matter.
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