DFA WARNS OFWs IN THE US ON TEXT SCAMS  

21 February 2007 – The Department of Foreign Affairs has issued another warning to OFWs on a text scam apparently emanating from the Philippines , which informs the prospective victim of winning US$40,000 from an electronic raffle draw allegedly sponsored by the “GMA Foundation of the Philippines ” for the benefit of OFWs.  

The Department issued the warning after receiving the report of Assistant Secretary Rey Carandang of the DFA’s Office of American Affairs on the alleged text fraud which uses the following name and contact number:  

Secretary Sarah Tetangco
Special Project Division Office
GMA Foundation of the Philippines
Cellphone number 09192037432.  

Referring to the letter of Attorney Romulo Tiu, Assistant Secretary Carandang stated that Atty. Tiu’s daughter, Ms. Roz Marise Tiu, based in San Francisco , California , received the text message and was asked to remit US$1,500 supposedly to cover the service fees necessary to give her the US$40,000 prize.  

The text scam used an analogous style as that of the text scams circulated in Canada in 2005 and 2006, in which perpetrators send series of text messages and accept calls to phone numbers they provide. Perpetrators convince their victims to wire-transfer a so-called processing fee, ranging from US$400 to US$1000. Victims are also asked to provide their passport and driver's license numbers.  

The Department of Foreign Affairs advises overseas Filipinos to refrain from responding to similar text messages, and to immediately report such cases to the nearest Philippine Embassy or Consulate General so that an advisory may be circulated immediately to warn the public. END

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