The Philippine National Police
arrests a suspect behind an online work scam following a successful
collaboration with the country’s leading finance app GCash. The scam involves
luring a victim to accept online tasks requiring investing money to earn a
commission.
The suspect was identified as
21-year-old female Danica Dela Cruz Valdez, a resident of Balayong, Malolos
City, Bulacan. Valdez had initially paid the victim for the first milestone to
gain trust. With the succeeding tasks, Valdez then required the victim to
complete the entire project first before the commission could be given, for
which the suspect required more investment money. The victim agreed and sent
payment to the suspect's bank accounts. Later, Valdez introduced additional
problems involving a crypto account that coerced her victim to send an
additional payment, banking on the victim's desire to get paid once and for
all. In the end, the scammer collected P314,080 from the unsuspecting victim.
As part of its ongoing initiative
to educate the public on how they protect themselves from scams and other
financial cyber crimes, GCash continues to remind its users to practice extra
vigilance and awareness of the various modes of scams.
"Having millions of users and
with the end goal of financial inclusion, online safety tops the priorities of
GCash. We remain steadfast in our dedication to ensuring the security and
protection of our users. We shall remain faithful to our collaborative efforts
with the Philippine National Police in swiftly addressing any scams, fraud, and
cybercrime," said GCash mobile wallet operator G-Xchange, Inc. head of
legal Atty. Gilbert Escoto.
While intensifying its cooperation
with law enforcement authorities, GCash also urges users to be extra vigilant
of online scammers and fraudsters. When making transactions on the app, users
are reminded never to disclose their MPIN or One-time PIN (OTP). With the rise
in phishing incidents, users are strongly advised to never click links,
especially from unknown senders.
For help and assistance, contact
the PNP-ACG via their hotlines at (02) 8414-1560, 0998-598-8116, or email at
acg@pnp.gov.ph
To report scams and fraudulent
activities, visit the official GCash Help Center in the app or at
help.gcash.com, message Gigi, and type, “I want to report a scam.” GCash will
never send private messages to ask for personal information, especially the
MPIN and OTP. Customers can also contact the official GCash hotline at 2882 for
queries and other concerns.
For more information, visit www.gcash.com.
