Hi all, Just wanted share a post about scammers selling macbooks over olx and/or fb marketplace. It may help someone who is about to fall into the trap. MACBOOK PRO SCAMMERS!! BEWARE!! Mag-ingat po tayo sa mga scammers. Eto ang karaniwang modus nila: 1. Mag popost sa FB Market Place ng items like Macbook Pro/Air 2. Yun location nila madalas province. Batangas, Laguna, Quezon, or somewhere sa North like Pampanga, Ilocos, at iba pa. 3. Ayaw makipag usap ng video call. Kasi makikita mo itsura nila. 4. Ipipilit sayo na mag reserve ka na kahit kalahati or kung magkano para kesyo ma-reserve sayo ang item. Mdami palusot kesyo may nauna na bigla at kung ano ano pa. 5. Kunyari mag bibigay pa ng exact address, pero di iyon nag tunay nilang address. Kapag pumunta ka, wala ka mapapala. At ndi ka nila sisiputin. 6. Ang mga accounts na gamit nila sa pag post ay ndi nila tunay na account. At madalas na-hack na accounts na yon. 7. Minsan papayag sila sa voice call, kasi di mo naman makikita mukha nila dun eh. Papalabasin na legit sila kasi nag call na kayo. 8. Ndi sila mag popost ng item na kasama ang mukha nila. Madalas nakuha lng nila sa ibang nag post yung mga photos. 9. At marami pang iba. MGA PARAAN PARA KAHIT PAANO MAKA-TUNOG NA SCAMMER SILA: 1. Mag video call kayo. Ito lng ang paraan para makita mo mismo sino ang kausap mo. Malalaman mo din kung yung account sa FB na ginamit eh sya rin ang kausap mo sa phone 2. Humingi ka ng actual pic ng item kasama sila at kita nag mukha. Di makikita mo din kung may item talaga at kung sila din mismo ung nasa FB na ginamit. 3.Humingi ng atleast 2-3 valid ids, Make sure ndi expired. At syempre dapat same ang photo sa FB dun sa mga valid IDs. 4. Huwag na huwag ka mag dedeposito ng reservation. Meet ups dapat. Pero make sure muna na nagawa mo na ang mga nasa itaas bago makipag meetup. Kasi baka di ka nila siputin at pag nandun ka na sa lugar ng usapan eh may mga palusot na sasabihin sayo. At sa huli sasabihin sayo na kesyo need mo na mag reserve muna sa kung ano mang dahilan. 5. Kapag ang ID na binigay ay ID ng kumpanya kung kesyo saan sila nag tratrabaho, wag agad magtiwala. Ipa-check muna sa lahitimong empleyado ng kumpanyang iyon. Gamitin ang utak at google sa pag iimbistiga. WAG BASTA BASTA MAG TITIWALA SA TAONG NDI MO KILALA. MAG DUDA KUNG SOBRANG MURA. WAG MAHIHIYANG MAGTANONG! SALAMAT PO! Read Less
This can actually apply to any item being displayed online for sale in FB or olx. I would definitely feel more secure if I opt to buy a refurbished or second hand unit from established and reputable sellers via paypal as mode of payment or do a meet up with the seller wherein a careful examination may be done with the item intended for sale.
do meetups. if someone wants to sell, the seller will state where the meetup place is. be it in province or here in manila. obviously if you are from manila, it is safe to refrain from buying items that are from the province and vice versa. if you are a buyer and really want the item being sold, and the seller is located in a reasonable distance, then take time to meet up to inspect the item. if you see the item in person and you see something is off, then call off the deal. and if you are a seller, dont expect that the buyer will automatically purchase it...that is why you ask them to test as long as reasonably possible. hope this helps also
I even encountered some guy who will give you his company id. He claimed to be a BJMP (Bureau of Jail Management and Penology) employee in Cabuyao Laguna. Upon calling BJMP in Cabuyao and contacting personalities in FB whose profiles match working in BJMP, they said they are already on the look for this guy since many people have been complaining and calling their office. Apparently the guy is not connected with the BJMP at all.
be careful with meet ups too. if it's a scammer on the other end, & they know that you'll be bringing cash during the meet up, you might be headed for a hold up. choose your meet up venue carefully.. make sure it's in a place where security is reliable etc. we used to have a lot of active threads here in Philmug on various ways scammers do it whether online or otherwise. if you have time, it might be good to dig up our archives for these scam posts just so you're duly warned & fully armed.
Just a few hours ago I chanced upon a post in OLX for a 2018 15" Macbook Pro for a very tempting price. May libre pa sya na magic mouse. I know It was a deal too got to be true but curiosity got the best of me. I though to myself maybe its one of those Black Friday Sale, although its already Saturday. Meron din ibang items for sale including an iPad pro with free Apple Pencil for the same outrageously low price. My plan was to meet up with the seller, check the item's serial number and then open the box and power the unit on to see if its complete and everything is in order before parting with my cash. I messaged the seller thru txt confirming the price, model and specs. I also asked if we can meet halfway since he/she was in MOA that time. The seller was very accommodating and all my inquiries and request were met with positive responses. Except to the point where I was asked to deposit payment first thru bank (Metrobank) or 7-11. I said I prefer to pay in cash and dapat kaliwaan but the seller insisted that's how they transact for security reasons. At dahil for security nga daw, a 5k security deposit is also required before they can do any meet up. That was when things started to smell rotten fishy. So I played along and said that bank deposit will do and I should get the bank details, knowing its a Saturday. When the day issue was brought up, I then moved on to the 7-11 option also asking for credentials. He/She said a barcode will be sent thru viber which I need to show the 7-11 crew and pay the amount. I got the barcode with a 7-11 logo and an amount stating 5k with an attached screenshot of a passport of a female whose location is in Batangas. Hmmmm... (Refer to OP's post). Right now I told who ever he/she is that I'm on my motorcycle on the way to the bank to get some money while trying to figure out how to bust this scammer or at least make a fool of him/her the way he/she thinks of making a fool of me. Your suggestions are most welcome. If there's a government agency I can get in touch with to report these kind of scams do please advise of their contact information. As all other Philmuggers have warned before, be careful when dealing with these kind of transactions where you have to give your money first before the seller will meet up or send any item. It's a sure fire way of losing your money and make a fool of yourself.
Last year the PNP ACG captured a notorious online scammer in Taguig City, who had been selling bogus Macbook Pros online via OLX. Apparently his last "victims" were undercover cybercrime agents who were enticed to buy the Pros for nearly half the price in the market. The scammer even attempted to show a stack of boxed Pros during a Skype call and opened one box to show the genuineness of the MBP. Three other times he contacted other buyers selling the SAME Pro in the process. His dropoff location in Taguig is a ML Pera Padala kiosk notoriously used by a syndicate before (and its remnants). When he has apprehended, a search of his vehicle revealed the same Apple boxes in his video calls which were actually empty and an MBP OOTB which was his own. A forensic search later on on his laptop revealed the names of nearly 600 supposed targets/victims within Metro Manila alone. Among his intended targets were people with public FB accounts and LinkedIn addresses. He is right now in detention awaiting completion of his trial for fraud, violation of cybercime law, and forcible abduction (the last filed by his alleged former partner). He could face prison of 6 years to 12 years and pay a fine of Php12Million for the cybercime alone. P.S. Now that is why it became imperative for some of us to leave FB and shut down some social media and digital accounts.
Either he's out on bail, his cohorts were up to the same scam or someone else picked up and tried to pull the same scam. The item was just posted today at OLX at same price you mentioned. This time the seller was leading me to make a 5k deposit at any 7-11 store but its seems to be a GCash transaction. If it was on a regular banking day, he would have pushed for a bank deposit for either the full price of the item or a significantly larger amount. I already emailed ACG. Just don't know how fast they can check and act on it. When I said I was on my way to the bank he even replied "Ingat". Reminds me of a former colleague who never fails to lead or say a prayer during meal time but smokes crack and swindles people on the sidelines. It would be great to bust this scammer in person, ala Liam Neeson in Taken, if only I'm deputized to do so. And... I don't want to risk the 5k so called security deposit as I'll end up being busted by the wifee.
