Message from the E-MAIL
Please be forewarned....
A female who claims to be a foreigner (Malaysian Chinese), about 59 years old, standing about 5’4”, of medium built, and with a foreign accent, approached my wife at the Trinoma Landmark Supermarket last September 25, 2008. Claiming it was her first time in the Philippines , and that she has just been deceived by a taxi driver of several hundred dollars, she asked for assistance in locating a particular chemical company within Trinoma. She was supposedly going to purchase about 20 bottles of a special chemical from this company costing about P27,000.00 per bottle.
Desiring to make amends for what the taxi driver has done to this foreigner and
concerned for her safety since she was carrying a huge amount of cash which she
showed my wife contained in a bag, she did not hesitate to assist her. While they were talking, a pregnant lady, who happened to be trying to get an item near where they were talking, was also asked by the foreigner if she knew this particular chemical company in Trinoma. This “conveniently” opened the door for the pregnant lady to join in their conversion, later joined by the pregnant lady’s “husband” who was introduced as a
doctor. Another gentleman joined them later and was introduced as the manager of the chemical company.
On hindsight, this whole scene was scripted with my wife the sole victim of these four professional criminals. The foreigner continued to sweet talk my wife, telling her that she was sick of cancer and may die anytime; that she comes from a rich family secluded from the rest of society that is why she is not too familiar with the banking system and needs help in transacting with the chemical company; and that my wife is the only one she can trust. She begged her not to leave her with the couple. Because of this “heart rending” sub-story, my wife even bought her lunch.
At the end of this highly emotional soap opera filled with lies and deceit, this foreigner and her cohorts were able to somehow convince my wife to put her ATM card and her wedding ring in the bag supposedly containing the huge amount of cash for the chemicals. They were also able to convince her to go to a jewelry store to purchase some jewelry which they placed in the same bag, which, by the way, they have her hold for safekeeping. After a few minutes, they took leave with the alibi that they were going up to the next level to check on the chemicals with the instruction that they will meet at the parking lot later to get the cash which was entrusted to my wife (the bag also supposedly contained her ATM card, her wedding ring, and the jewelry they bought together). Since she had the bag which contained the valuables, my wife did not suspect anything wrong and agreed to wait, believing she was helping someone genuinely in need of help.
After about an hour of waiting, my wife became suspicious and called me. Thinking something fishy was going on that could possibly put her in a dangerous situation, I advised her to go to the Security Office of Trinoma where the bag was opened. The bag contained nothing but bundles of pad paper. All the valuables were gone. She has become the nth victim of the “buddle-buddle” gang.
Obviously, bag switching happened somewhere without my wife noticing it. Together
with it were her ATM card, her wedding ring, and the jewelries. This group is indeed
very good to the point that somewhere in the course of the 4 hour drama, they were
able to expertly “extricate” from my wife her PIN no..
It has been a very costly experience. But I am very thankful to the Lord that my wife
was not harmed. Also, it goes without saying, that we are richer now with learnings
from this unforgettable incident.
We are sharing this experience to warn others. It is good to be helpful. By all means,
let us not stop from being of assistance to others. But let us be watchful. We can be very vulnerable to people whose only purpose is to take advantage of others…even if they
do not deserve such treatment.
With this letter, we also hope that all Mall Operators and their tenants be more vigilant
and updated on the modus operandi and personalities involved in this kind of scrupulous operations. Todate, we are still trying to get copies of the surveillance videos from
Trinoma and Landmark, three full days after the incident. Let us have pleasant memories of your malls and outlets…not harrowing ones.
A concerned citizen
(If anyone ones to validate the authenticity of this incident, a report has been filed with
the Trinoma Security Office and the Police Precinct covering the area).
