BEWARE OF EXTORTIONISTS, SCAMMERS

PNP anti-cyber crime group has warned girls against posing in the nude for opportunist boyfriends or simply for fun.

P/Chief Inspector Christopher Paciteng of Regional Anti-Cyber Crime Office 1, said their office already received several complaints from victims of blackmailers using their nude pictures for the blackmail.

“We have one complaint involving a young girl, a minor, being blackmailed by her former boyfriend, threatening to post her naked pictures on Facebook if she refused to reconcile with him,” Paciteng said.

“Another complaint was about a girl whose naked picture was posted as profile picture to blackmail and extort money from her,” he added.

Paciteng advised would be victims to immediately make a screenshot of the text or post and report it to Regional Anti-Cyber Crime Office at the Police Regional Office 1 in Camp Oscar Florendo, San Fernando City, La Union.

Paciteng said, in case the blackmailer is unidentified, victim should report the post immediately so the complaint can be investigated before the situation gets worse.

He said the identities of anonymous blackmailers can be established by tracing the URL (uniform resource locator) or mobile number of the suspect.

Meanwhile, Paciteng, also warned women against chatting in social media with strangers to avoid being duped and be sorry.

He told local newsmen that some women have fallen victims of scams because chat in social media, being made to believe that their chat mates are foreigners with whom they can have a future blissful life.

He recounted the experience of one lady in the region who fell for a common trick used by scammers in dating sites in the internet. The scammers pretend initially that they are infatuated with the women they chance upon, accentuating on the latter’s physical attributes, Paciteng said.

The scammers send pictures of themselves as Caucasians.

In the course of their communication possibly after few weeks, the scammer would tell their prospective victims about their desire to go to Philippines to visit her that always make the women excited and flattered, he said.

Then supposedly upon arrival in Manila, the scammers complain of their baggage containing valuables being held up by custom authorities and ask for help.

In the case of the victim in the region, the “admirer” asked her to help him retrieve his baggage and needed to pay authorities P20,000, then came more requests for lawyer’s fee, etc. In all, she ended up sending P80,000 to help her admirer.

Then, the scammer disappeared, Paciteng said.

The Regional Anti-Cyber Crime Office 1 has been operational since 2016 handles cases of child pornography, identity theft, blackmail and extortion. (Nora Dominguez/Tita Roces)

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