The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in Central Visayas on Tuesday said social insurance pensioners can avoid being victimized by unscrupulous individuals if they directly transact their loan applications with the right officers.
Col. Ireneo Dalogdog, CIDG-7 regional chief, said this after two complainants from Negros Oriental province filed a complaint against two persons for allegedly duping them with their cash cards or automated teller machine (ATM) cards issued by the Social Security System (SSS).
He said the suspects reportedly identified themselves as personnel of the SSS and offered to facilitate the quick release of the victims’ loan application.
“Their modus operandi is to introduce themselves as employees of SSS. They target pensioners who are senior citizens. Because of their old age, they would allow the suspects to process their loan application so that they can secure the loan proceeds faster,” Dalogdog said in a press briefing.
The two suspects –Maria Joy Lugdang and Emma Apopanda– are now detained at the Negros Oriental holding facility.
The duo is facing charges in violation of provisions of the Revised Penal Code penalizing usurpation of authority.
The suspects allegedly offered to hold the ATM cards of the victims so that they could withdraw the loan proceeds.
To convince the victims that the transactions they offered were legitimate, they gave the victims money purported as an advance amount from the loan proceeds.
However, they allegedly failed to give the entire SSS loan amount, prompting the victims to lodge a complaint with the CIDG regional field office in Dumaguete City.
“My message to the public: we should not simply believe in people we do not know, especially those who would pretend to be employees of SSS. We should be always vigilant. If you happen to know of these kinds of modus, report them to us right away,” Dalogdog said.
Source: Philippines News Agency