DTI Warns Public Anew Against Scams

Iligan City — The Lanao del Norte Provincial Office of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), in a media forum held in Iligan city, cautioned public against scams.

According to DTI, scams could be online or offline (face to face transactions).

Scam is a fraudulent scheme performed by a dishonest individual, group, or company in an attempt obtain money or something else of value.

It is also a dishonest attempt to trap a victim into parting with money slang for a fake scheme to steal money or goods, and a quick-profit scheme where a person cheats another individual or group.

During the forum, DTI has presented common scams in the Philippines.

Among of which is Budol-budol which involves a bundle (budol) of cash padded inside with sheets of paper cut in the size of money. Only the exposed sides however is real money, everything in between are plain paper cuttings. From the initial set-up of a stranger carrying an envelope containing a bundle of cash, a wide variety of ploys are employed by the gang.

Text scams, the most common, are dubious text messages sent to cellular phone owners informing them they have won a special prize in a raffle, promo, or contest. To further entice cellphone owners, these texts often include the prizes the cellphone owners have allegedly won – cash, appliances, even a brand new car.

A pyramiding scam is a non-sustainable business model that involves the exchange of money primarily for ‘enrolling’ other people into the scheme. It was previously done without any product or service being delivered, but has evolved in the Philippines to take the form of a legitimate business model making it more attractive to potential investors.

The Ponzi scheme, named after one of the greatest swindlers in American history Charles Ponzi, is a fraudulent investment operation that involves paying abnormally high returns (profits) to investors out of the money put in by previous investors, rather than from the revenues generated by a real business.

A Matrix scheme is a worldwide internet scam promising to send free material goods. It is similar to a Ponzi scheme and a Pyramiding scheme.

While a High Yield Investment Program or HYIP is a type of scam usually offered via the Internet. HYIPs accept deposits as low as $1 while promising high return. It cashes in on new investors’ inputs as they provide payment to the older investors. This type of scam thrives as long as new investors are found and/or old investors leave their money (because they are promised even higher profits).

Meawhile, a Get-rich-quick scheme is a worldwide scam. It can be found in anywhere in the world.

This could be a reminder to everyone with the advent of celebrating holidays and having year-end bonus, the victim would be enticed or offered to double amount through these scams, says DTI. (DTI-Iligan/LVG/PIA-10 LDN)