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BSP warns public vs 'pasalo-benta' auto loan scams

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<p>MANILA - Vulnerable car buyers and sellers should be wary of auto loan &quot;pasalo-benta&quot; or assume balance scams, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Wednesday.</p><p>There has been an &quot;increasingly prevalent modus&quot; called the Pasalo-Benta or the Balance/Pasalo Scheme where perpetrators target car buyers who want to save on costs and sellers who need to transfer liabilities, the BSP said in a statement. </p><p>Under the scheme, a syndicate member will buy a vehicle from a seller who wants to transfer liability and will sign an agreement to assume payments for the auto loan. </p><p>However, the bogus buyer, which has no intention to pay the remaining amortization, will sell the vehicle to the end-buyer (victim) using falsified documents, the central bank said.</p><p>The victim will have no rights over the vehicle which will eventually get repossessed &quot;leaving the end-buyer with nothing,&quot; the BSP said.</p><p>Banks and financial institutions, meanwhile, were reminded by the BSP to &quot;strictly observe and strengthen&quot; the anti-money laundering regulations on:</p><p>• customer identification and verification procedures<br/>• ongoing monitoring of customers and their transactions<br/>• reporting of suspicious transactions<br/>• continuing AML training program including controls relating to partner/accredited car dealers</p><p>A memo has been released to the BSP-Supervised Financial Institutions (BSFIs) on organized crimes through auto loans, the central bank said.</p><p>The memo called for the reinforcement of customer identification and verification procedures as part of due diligence. It also explained other car-related illegal activities, the BSP said.<br/> <br/>According to the Philippine National Police, vehicle-related crimes were done through fabricated conduction stickers, plate numbers, falsified documents such as IDs and employment certificates as well as identity theft. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/08/17/21/scam-alert-bsp-warns-public-vs-fraudsters">BSP warns public vs unauthorized use of officials&#x27; names to solicit money</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/04/06/21/poe-wants-bsp-help-fraud-victims">Poe wants Bangko Sentral to help fraud victims get money back</a></li></ul><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO: </strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1784789" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

Vulnerable car buyers and sellers should be wary of auto loan 'pasalo-benta' or assume balance scams, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Wednesday.