Ronnabelle Lora

Pokwang seeks help from NBI to fight scammer using her home address

Article (news)

Peter Andrew Acierto

Push Team

<p>Comedian-actress Pokwang is working closely with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to locate a scammer using her personal home address in Antipolo as a fake staycation address. The Kapuso star revealed that the scammer has been using her home for several months already.</p><div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FJoanna.Escario%2Fposts%2Fpfbid03Q74FTqidbUYWbeowLDSmNHpKJUKn482cUEqEjCbgXMKtcubfePxYGPPt7SU3EXcl&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=500" width="500" height="681" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><p>The Facebook account, Sunnyside Resort, has been taken down as of this writing but several netizens have aired their concerns over the money they had given the scammer.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/2023/12/24/pokwang-wins-deportation-case-against-ex-partner-1434"><strong>READ: Pokwang wins deportation case against ex-partner<br/></strong></a></div><p>Pokwang sat down in an interview with news outlet <em>24 Oras</em> where she narrated how the scammer would post several photos of a fake staycation place while attaching the real address of her home.</p><p>“Magaganda yung mga pino-post doon sa account niya…Ikaw naman ma-e-enganyo ka talaga. Pero wala talagang ganoong resort,” she shared.</p><p>It was in December when the scam began as people rang her doorbell and asked to be checked-in at the staycation. Pokwang provided several footages from her CCTV which showed how surprised some of the people were upon finding out they were scammed.</p><p>The fake Facebook account would ask for down payments before sending the address to the victims of the scam. In one Facebook post shared by a victim, they sent a down payment amounting to ₱7,500 as requested by the scammer. After they sent over the amount, they will be blocked by the scammer once they reach the address of Pokwang.</p><p>“Minsan, sa loob ng isang araw, ang kumakatok na tao dito, tatlo hanggang limang biktima sa isang araw lang ‘yun. At karamihan doon, nagda-down na,” Pokwang added.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/2024/8/24/pokwang-takes-us-on-a-tour-of-her-new-home-push-bets-1752"><strong>WATCH: Pokwang takes us on a tour of her new home | PUSH Bets<br/></strong></a></div><p>Pokwang shared that she doesn’t know the reason the scammer decided to use her home address and how they found out about it. She also placed a sign at the gate of her house to warn potential victims about the fake staycation address.</p><p>“Natatakot ako para sa family ko. Nilagay mo sa risk yung buhay ng pamilya ko. Hindi kita titigilan. Kakasuhan ko siya,” she maintained.</p><p>Meanwhile, NBI Cybercrime Division Executive Officer Vanessa Asuncion warned netizens about fake accounts and urged them to book their staycations on legal and regulated platforms.</p><p>“Kailangan mag-book sila sa regulated platforms natin. Since they are regulated… nakakasiguro tayo na mabo-book natin. Secondly, mag-ocular…. make sure that the owner… legally allowed by the owner,” she shared.</p>