This afternoon I got a text from someone who I thought was my friend from abroad. The first text was "Msta n kau dyn?e2 n new roaming # ko.d2 n kyo mgttxt.mlapit n xmas & new yr.advnce n lng s inyo lhat.bsta ingat lng kyo dyn plgi,alwys tkecare & godbles." Since no name was specified, the logical next question would be to verify the identity of the person. Well, if you happen to know someone from abroad who carries a roaming number, you'd naturally mention a name answerable by "yes" or "no". An answer in the affirmative would then lead to a couple of the usual "kamustahan" and then comes the hook which is in a form of a business proposal. The text would say, "Ung mga ksamahan k kc d2 ng su2dgest n mag benta daw ako ng prepaid crd d2 malaki kc ang 2bo ung 500 crd mbebenta k ng 2,500. Db ang laki ng 2bo kng gs2ubumili k jan ng prepaid crd kht ilan ako ang magbe2nta d2 sau n ang 2bo." Sounds enticing doesn't it? Here then is how this "business venture" is supposed to happen, " Mdli lng g2wn m0h bibili ka lng dyn smart prepaid crd at kpg nkbili kna send m0h lng skn ang pin # at aq na bhla mgbenta d2,ip2dla q rn agd sau ang pinagbenthn." He would then want you to text back 5 Globe and 5 Smart Php 500 loads. Truth be told, I almost fell into this trap. What gave it away was the makulit nature of the texter. After I said that I'll just text him later a follow up text every 30 minutes will bug you. So to be sure that he really was the friend I thought him to I asked him his surname---that ended the charade. The mobile number of this scammer is 09212939530.
So friends beware. There are a lot of unscrupulous people around!
