Apple iPhone scammers in the Philippines

September 5, 2008

Stocks, Mutual Funds, Forex, Finance Philippines

Make Money Online, Stocks, Mutual Funds, Philippines

Those turned off by Globe’s expensive pricing of the Apple iPhone might be tempted to get one from black markets or online stores selling jailbroken versions of this newly-released (and may we add, hyped) phone.

But beware, because scammers who prey on people looking for cheap iPhones also abound.

Art Vasquez in a comment on the article Where to buy cheap Apple iPhones in the Philippines narrated how he got scammed by a scammer seller in a popular Filipino auction site.

I browsed several sites regarding iPhone 3G and came across this site which led me to Auction.ph where an iphone 3g is selling for Php29,000 for the 16GB.

I texted the seller and arranged to buy one. I had all the hesitation to buy when I was told I will need to send the payment first before the item is shipped to me. I asked several questions regarding the safetly of my money from the seller. I was told I can deposit my payment with BPI bank and that they couldn’t be a fly-by-night operation or a scam because having a bank account means that legal documents must be presented to open a bank account. With this in mind, I made the payment deposit. I was told I would get my iphone 3g the next day before 11am.

I guess you know the conclusion to this story. The next day came and went and no iphone. I called the same cell number but it’s turned off but if you text it or call it with a different number it responds to your inquiry to buy.

There you go. I hope you wont make the same mistake as I do.

If the BPI account where the payment was deposited was indeed the scammer’s account, Art can still go after the scammer if he can secure a court order instructing BPI to divulge the details of the account holder. Banks normally won’t release any information about an account because they are bound by the Bank Secrecy Law. But if there is a court order, BPI has no choice but to make public the account holder’s information.

Scammers assume that victims usually won’t take the time to run after them that’s why these scammers have the gall to commit such wrongdoings. If you were a victim, insist on going after them so that they eventually are put to jail.

If you have not encountered these scumbags yet, make sure you won’t become a victim just because you were lured by the iPhone.

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Topic keywords for this post:

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Written by James | PinoyMoneyTalk.com · Filed Under Apple iPad, iPhone, iPod

Join the discussion! Post a comment below

http://serranoboy.blogsome.com The Serrano Boy

yan ang dahilan kung bakit ayaw ko bumili online
http://dyimz.blogspot.com Dyimz

This is why customers are afraid of buying online. Isn’t it that auction.ph has its own escrow system?
http://theauctioneer.wordpress.com/ The Auctioneer

Yes Dyimz, we do have our own escrow system. That’s why we advise all our members to use the system for them to be protected. The idea of our escrow system is simple, the seller won’t receive the payout if the buyer haven’t receive the item. “The Serrano Boy” maybe you want to give a try buying online and use our escrow system for security.
http://doomet.com doomet

People shouldn’t be afraid to buy online. Just make sure you buy from websites that are legit and trustworthy like eBay. I’ve bought items from ebay without any problems. This is bad publicity for auction.ph and they should have a fraud investigation / helpdesk of some sort. eBay has a whole building dedicated to detecting online fraud. Anyways, hindi ba pwede i-track un seller via other means than a court order for bpi to divulge the account holder? yan problem sa pinas, kulang sa laws to protect pinoys online.
By the way, try Web of Trust to protect yourself online from phishing and risky websites. Read more at http://doomet.com/2008/09/09/internet-security-with-web-of-trust/ :)
http:///www.zaiblog.com emma.s

when buying online, be sure to read the seller’s comments/ratings/testimonials. also check the profiles.

don’t settle with blank profiles or claims that look too good to be true, this is a tell-tale sign of scam.

if it is an online shop or store, check for addresses, contact details and reviews from bloggers, forums, etc.

if you have time to spare, by all means go to a reputable store kahit mas mahal at least its safer.
http://mobilecellphonesandaccessories.blogspot.com/ Mobilephone

It always best to buy only on legitimate online web sites. And to get good guidance about such transactions, it always best to ask other costumers either from a forum or a blog.
Psychopath

Common man, anything worth 1k and above is not worth it trading through internet,
with the exception of the full established websites like best-buy etc.
I hope you know the other method’s of claiming like C.O.D. method or Meet ups.
If they disagree, think twice. That might be a scam.
http://www.estetikfiyati.com Estetik fiyatlar?

yan ang dahilan kung bakit ayaw ko bumili online
…
Leffedge_08jm06

Guyus could ou check po sa facebook yung danca.shop search nyo. I think im a victim now i ordered ipone 4s then she ask me dep first before shipment. Before i dp the haf i did profiled her. She was base in hk as a front end supevisor at metropark hotel kowloon. Nagsuggest ko kung pwede meet ups and she said yes then since my fren will g to hk on the ffolowing day. She agree, i deo the haf since oct 26 2011 then until now hindi pa din sya ngppkita’ ang dami nyang alliby! I try to contact her using her roaming number wrong number nmn daw. Plese help me profile thus accoubt in facebook! She ask me to dp the bal before she ship the unit!
meirlac

Yes doomet you’re right, it is a bad publicity for auction.ph, it seems there are many fraud sellers there, I was a victim I’m glad I used their escrow system. These Nigerians insist on paying them directly through western union. I also had look into some feedbacks ” item not delivered, though they have escrow system it is a waste of time going to the bank to deposit for the payments. I hope auction.ph can somehow identify these sellers, it gives a bad impression on their site.
- Abil
  
  Hey, I wanna know if you successfully purchased something at auction.ph.. How long will it take to process payments via bank over-the-counter?