I was scammed 🥲
Today, nangyari ang least expected ko na mangyayari sa’kin with all my usual precautions. I was conned. Scammed by a total stranger. This is a selfie with him (left).
As I entered SM North The Block, a “half-Filipino” in decent clothing approached me and relayed his dilemma to me in a perfect American accent. He had a fight with his Mexican girlfriend who left him without his phone and wallet. Now, he needed money for the bus fare going back to his hotel in Subic.
Of course, this already alerted my internal bullshit-detector. However, to be open-minded and logical about it, I spared a few minutes to listen and decided not to dismiss his story immediately without evidence. And as he continued to explain, he seemed to have a reasonable answer to every question I throw at him.
I told him to head to the mall’s security office for help. He said he had already gone there and they just directed him to the bus station and can’t give him any money because “they’re just guards”.
I asked for his ID but he reiterated his story about his wallet. He gave me his mobile number instead so I can give him a call later to return the money. He asked for 310 pesos as bus fare. He even joked he wouldn’t risk his dignity for such an amount if he had a choice. This, to me, added a bit of credibility to his predicament because he was only asking the exact fare. I imagined if I were in a similar situation, I would greatly appreciate a stranger’s help. I checked my wallet and unfortunately, I only have 220 pesos and a few larger bills. I hesitated to give the 500 peso bill but finally decided to hand it to the guy out of pity.
Lastly, I was even cautious enough to request a photo of him “for safety”. He obliged but asked for a selfie with me instead. I waved him goodbye as he made his way out of the mall. In my heart and mind, I made a small difference to a man in need today.
A few minutes later, I googled his name and, tada!, he had been doing the same modus for years. It was a scam and he was even using the same name: Michael Bryce. I tried calling him and as expected, the number he gave me was out of reach.
I’m posting this so that if anyone encounters the same person (or a similar situation), better leave him outright or escort him to the authorities. He may have had hundreds of victims at this point.
Similar stories: https://www.reddit.com/r/Philippines/comments/4tejkl/has_anyone_experienced_those_englishspeaking/
Originally posted on Facebook (June 2018): https://www.facebook.com/mikorobyo/posts/10214153815412172
