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Elderly woman says she lost P1.7-M in gas tank inspection scam

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Izzy Lee, ABS-CBN News

MANILA - A 73-year-old woman said Monday she lost a total of P1.7 million after falling victim to a gas tank inspection hoax since 2018.Two men allegedly involved in the scam were arrested last Friday by the Northern District Anti-Cybercrime Team in an entrapment operation in Malabon.According to the woman, two men visited her home in 2018, introducing themselves as safety surveyors and went on to inspect her LPG tank.&quot;Na-engganyo ako, pinatuloy ko sila. Tapos chineck nila &#x27;yung gasul. &#x27;Yung hose tiningnan muna nila... May tinanggal sila eh... Biglang nag-explode, &#x27;yung apoy,&quot; the woman said.The supposed surveyors told her that they had replaced the regulator and safety breaker. They then asked for a payment of P5,000 with lifetime warranty.After a week, the men returned to her house to perform another inspection.&quot;Ayun na naman, umapoy na naman... Sabi ay &#x27;Kailangan niyong palitan po. Kailangan palitan &#x27;yung regulator.&#x27; Ayun, dumagdag na naman ang babayaran ko,&quot; she said.They kept returning to her home almost every month, with different dealers, and the bills kept piling up, she said. This continued until 2022.According to her, she paid a total of P1.7 million to the supposed inspectors.In May 2023, the woman received a phone call from a supposed vice president of a company named Resource Fund Incorporated, she said. The caller allegedly promised to refund her payments, but asked that she pay an additional amount for the reimbursement process. She said she was forced to borrow from friends and pawn her pension.The woman said she was also threatened and verbally abused when unable to pay them off.&quot;Nagkaroon na nga ako ng family problem diyan eh. Kaming mag-asawa, nag-aaway... Lahat, pati &#x27;yung panggamot namin, nandyan na rin... Nagpapagamot kami... May quarterly check up kami,&quot; she shared.The Northern District Anti-Cybercrime team caught the two suspects receiving payments from the victim through money transmit.The suspects declined to give an interview and underwent inquest proceedings on Monday for charges related to violation of cybercrime laws.Police suspect that there could be a syndicate behind the scam.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/06/10/23/alamin-paano-makakaiwas-sa-cyberattacks">ALAMIN: Paano makakaiwas sa cyberattacks</a></li></ul>

Authorities conducted an entrapment operation on June 10 that led to the arrest of two suspects who scammed a 73-year-old woman.

Elderly woman says she lost P1.7-M in gas tank inspection scam

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Elderly woman says she lost P1.7-M in gas tank inspection scam

Izzy Lee,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jun 13, 2023 12:21 PM PHT

Read More:

scam

crime

hoax

entrapment

entrapment operation

police

police operation

gas tank inspection

gas tank inspection scam

fake tank inspectors

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