Philippines Scams & Warnings

Sent by an American lured into a card game.  A good insight into how these scammers approach you and try to befriend you before getting you to join them in a friendly game of cards.

“As I was walking around looking for the place that rented bikes a really friendly clean cut Filipino greeted me like I was a long lost friend. We shook hands and he reminded me that he had given me a cab ride earlier. He asked where I was staying and I told him, he said something about picking me up there or something, whatever — I really didn’t remember him but really didn’t care either. He finished introducing himself, showing me a picture with his family and stated that he was transportation director. I believed that part because he was sharper than your average cabby and he had a manicure!? He asked me what I was looking for ..or something like that, and I told him I wanted to rent a bike. Boy did I contact the right guy!!! He could fix me up with a new one for a very reasonable price. He whistled down one of his drivers (so he led me to believe) and we drove off the main drag to someplace else. As we were riding there he was telling me all the do’s and don’ts of the city.  This guy could fix me up with beautiful college girls for 400p ect. ect. blah blah, at least it wasn’t boring. We arrive at our destination and I found it pretty strange that he had taken us to a really nice house, by Angeles city standards this place was a mansion. I asked what was up with that and he replied that everything I saw was for rent, the cars in the driveway, the house, and the villas next to it. He could rent me a villa for 10,000p a month, he said we could have a beer and he would introduce me to a couple of the college girls that were also staying here while he called someone to bring over the new bike.

The place was really nice inside, very well decorated and air conditioned, he introduced the girls gave me the ice cold beer and we were just chilling like a couple of long lost buddies. What’s this? Surprise the owner is in!? The way he was announced I assumed he was royalty or something and a rare treat to meet this man. Well turned out the guy was quite a charmer (snake charmer), well cultured Indian man, very affable. We shook as he introduced himself, according to him he owned a lot of property, clubs and whatnot in Angeles. He laughed about the college girls cooing over me and confided in me that he also loved the ladies and had a wife in Angeles as well as in Bangkok. I’m pretty comfortable about now and in no particular hurry to leave. So when he asks if I’m interested in playing a couple of friendly games of poker, because he figures I know the game and apparently by the secretive wink he gives me the cab guy don’t know how. Sure I’ll play but first I make sure what he means by friendly, he laughs and says no money. Seemed kinda pointless but, OK lets play. I win the first game of five card draw. He asks if I know the game of seven card stud? “of course”‘ my turn to shuffle, get ready to deal .

A couple of distractions latter, the girls have now left, I offer the cut, he taps and I proceed to deal, Two down one up, I’m preparing to deal all the cards, no bets remember but he stops me after the first one up card, he was showing a King, and bets 100p, I look at my cards I’m holding two Queens down under, and showing a seven, I see his 100 and raise. I deal the next two cards. He gets a Queen much to my dismay and I get some insignificant four or something — hmmm his bet, I see him with my secret pair. Next round he gets a ten and I get another seven, Hmmm two pair, not bad. I forget the next round of bets but it was definitely getting out of hand. Next two down he gets a 9, I get another Queen, I’ve got a full house. Well I only had a few hundred dollars worth of pesos on me so it was becoming obvious that this guy was just going to beat me with his bank. He was working a straight, mixed suites, I told him I would check but he wanted to raise, I showed him my empty wallet and he said I could write an IOU, He explained that he was rich and having fun and as long as I had a Visa card that I could get a cash advance from and would sign with my passport number he had no problem.

Cool I thought even though my spider senses are starting to tingle. Last card down. OK he is showing a King, Queen, ten and a nine, I’m showing a pair of sevens a Queen and a four. He is obviously trying to fill a inside strait, I already have a full boat!!!! We had about $500 each in the pot and he bets $500, I’m getting really edgy and figure he won’t loan me the rest and will win by default, much to my surprise he hands me the paper to increase my bet. I study the cards, remind myself that I dealt and shuffled the cards myself and took his bet.

Surprise Surpris Surprise!!!! His down cards were two Kings and a ten giving him the bigger boat Kings over tens. This moment is etched forever into memory it was totally surreal. The guy I was playing suddenly turns hard as I am staring gape mouthed disbelief fumbling with the cards. He claps his hands and in walks the meanest looking Flip I have ever seen! He has a pistol in his waistband and points and shouts at me ‘”YOU PAY MY BOSS!” I’m escorted out to the fancy jeepney parked out front and another Goon is waiting.

The four of us are on the way to the bank while I’m trying to figure this thing Written in a personal style by native born Filipina now living in USA, Evelyn Peplow. It tells more of social customs than other travel guides, but has few photos. Lists some Tagalog & Visicayn wordsout “then I remember.”  Between card games, all the while the cabby is talking, about one think or another non stop and the girls are also a pretty good distraction. The cabby produces a deck of cards says something to the girls in Dalog and they leave the room. He tells me that the cards like he was holding, (looked like standard wax coated Bicycle cards were hard to come by in Angeles and If I bring him a couple of decks of these cards on my next trip I could sleep with one of the girlies), the guy I was playing with wanted to see them , I passed them over, the cabby continued to converse, the guy handed the cards back to cabby and looked at me a shrugged as if to say , good deal for you. Well at that time I had no money on the table my guard was down and I just handed myself A COLD DECK.

All the while the cabby was still playing the part of my friend, giving advise like making sure that I got the IOU back and not to tell the police because gambling outside of Casinos is illegal and I would wind up in jail for sure. Well I’m sure my eyes narrowed a little when I asked, “just where do I know you from?” Well of course he acted very offended and said something in Dalog to the goons in the front seat of the jeepney they all glared at me and I decided not to take it any further. While I now knew the Cabby had set me up, he didn’t know that and at least to this point he hadn’t been openly hostile to me as his compatriots had.

I got the cash advance and walked back out to the car to pay and waited while the two goons, who had apparently staked out the other exits, all returned.  I paid, got my receipt, and got out.”

Related posts:

1. My personal experience here in Anonas, PH.
2. Beware of Madisson Krup
3. How’s Your Poker Face?
4. LoveAccess Scammers
5. Ask For Money – Shout Next!

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