Accents
A call in the night
This is a true story. It involves real people like you and me. Mentioned here are real names except for the con men who change names like they change shirts. They switch titles, too, from engineer to doctor or to whatever is convincing at the moment. Lest you be the next target of these dupes, hear ye:
The phone rang at the house of Mrs. Eufrocina Cepe Wednesday night of September 10. Mrs. Cepe is our neighbor at the Florvel Subdivision in Brgy. Buray, Oton. She remembered the date very well because, Mrs. Cepe recounted, it was the town fiesta of Guimbal, Cabatuan and Lambunao in celebration of their patron saint, San Nicolas. Mrs. Cepe was already deep into dreamland when the ringing of the phone woke her up to reality. The caller at once said he was a consul from Immigration. No name was given. (Mind you, wrong choice for Mr. Consul. Consuls work in the foreign affairs department, not immigration.)
Then the "consul" broke the tragic news that Mrs. Cepe's daughter Maricor was wounded in an altercation with her head nurse in Texas in the United States. The head nurse attacked with a knife and Maricor returned the assault with scissors. But not to worry, said the "consul" because Maricor was immediately treated and was now safe from danger. The caller said Dr. Ledesma would be calling up to apprise Mrs. Cepe of her daughter's situation. True enough, the next call was from "Dr. Ledesma" who assured Mrs. Cepe that Maricor's situation was okay. She's now far from danger. But… and it's a big BUT…
Maricor has to be transported to Cebu without delay, the consul further said. (Methinks Cebu was chosen by the caller because of the international airport there.) The mother fell hook, line, and sinker to the most unforeseen, shocking news that could happen to a daughter. What to do? Send P80,000 immediately, send via G-cash, the "consul" instructed. Mrs. Cepe said she doesn't have the cash outright. What about half of the amount or P40,000? It seemed the so-called consul was trying to make a bargain.
Mrs. Cepe suggested giving her ATM number, but the caller would have none of it. With all gullibility and thinking only of her daughter's predicament, she gave her Land Bank account number that the caller jotted down. The caller had other things in mind. How about jewelry that she can pawn, the consul proposed. Mrs. Cepe said she'll borrow from her relatives who won't hesitate to help her with the cash problem she's facing.
While Mrs. Cepe was on the phone, her trusted, very alert helper was texting Maricor in Texas to please call home ASAP. Healthy and unscathed because she didn't figure in any fight with the head nurse, Maricor made a long distance call to her mother to the great relief of the poor woman. Early the next day, back to her senses, Mrs. Cepe wasted no time, went to the city and informed Land Bank that she had given her bank account number to the anonymous caller from the Bureau of Immigration. Land Bank assured Mrs. Cepe that her money is safe and cannot be withdrawn by any caller.
Was it only a day or two that mother and daughter had conversed over the phone? After all the assurances of her health, security, and comfort, Maricor told her mother not to be so gullible. Story closed.
Akin to the foregoing incident was a phone call that happened on the same day, Sept. 10, at about 4:00 p.m. Mrs. Cepe's nephew, Edward Manajero, also a Florvel resident, narrated how he received one such call informing him that Rey Serrano, their nephew, killed the captain of the ship where Rey works as a seaman. (Head nurse and ship captain—con men do select VIPs for characters.) In the scuffle, somebody struck Rey with a lead pipe, so send P60,000 immediately for medical fees and for Rey's transport to Cebu. (Featuring the international airport in Cebu again!) The caller told Edward that Engr. Ledesma would call him up about this. How quickly one Engr. Ledesma, who called up Edward, had morphed into a doctor for Maricor.
Some interesting questions to think about:
Where did the caller get the phone numbers of Eufrocina Cepe and Edward Manajero? Simple, considering that these are listed in the telephone directory that also includes subscribers' home addresses. How did the caller know about Mrs. Cepe's daughter and her work as a nurse in far-away Texas? How did the caller know that Rey, Edward's nephew is a seaman in the high seas? Let's just presume con artists might have acquired Edward's and Maricor's whereabouts from relatives and friends of their targeted victims, or from company or government records. How privy are swindlers to the personal data of OFWs and other Filipinos abroad?
Mrs. Cepe had her story aired over Bombo Radyo and blottered by the Oton police. Thank heavens, the call in the night didn't cause a heart attack. But she felt so drained, she said, her diabetic and arthritic pains aggravated by the utterly false news.
Do you have a relative working abroad? Beware of a call any time of day or night from someone you don't know. Beware of an "accident" report. Beware of con artists who resort to all tricks and devices to amass a hefty sum from the naive.
(E-mail: lagoc@hargray.com)