How’s Your Poker Face?
I know several foreigners who have fallen for the card game scam. Basically you are befriended by a Filipino male or males. They may have a female ‘cousin’ with them to soften your suspicions but the Filipina will be a girlfriend of one of the gang. They will take you somewhere off the beaten track to play cards, maybe for fun or they might suggest a few pesos bet. Peso’s? Play money! Maybe but not if you lose enough of them, then they add up to real money!
You will be given drinks to loosen you up and help you relax and trust them. You will enjoy a winning streak and then they will pounce. Someone will suggest upping the stakes and before you know it, you are being escorted to an ATM by a couple of really heavy looking cut throats to draw out as much as you can.
If your gambling debts are high enough they will insist on holding your passport, air ticket and taking you to the ATM again when more money can be accessed. These guys don’t mess around, they will hurt you, maybe even kill you if they feel like it.
So why do foreigners fall for this? Why do men gamble in the first place? I don’t play cards, I only ever bet on myself and then I bet everything I have. But gambling is greed and greed is what makes every scam and con work. That get something for nothing possibility is too much for some to resist. Well, I reckon you deserve everything you get. The simple solution is don’t gamble and especially don’t gamble with Filipinos you barely might know.
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