SEN. Panfilo Lacson yesterday warned the public against scammers seeking financial donations for supposed victims of recent typhoons, saying he could have been duped had he not verified the request.
Lacson said he received a text message through Viber from an individual who used as profile picture the photo of former Rep. Josephine Sato, asking for financial support to help rebuild a “typhoon-damaged orphanage building” in Occidental Mindoro.
Lacson said he deemed it proper to personally verify the request with Sato herself, and found it was a scam.
Lacson said he is seeking the assistance of law enforcement agencies to identify the scammer.
He posted on X (formerly Twitter) his conversation with the scammer who gave a GCash donation drive number apparently to convince him of the legitimacy of the request.
The GCash number used by the scammer was (0912) 465-87-61, and the Viber number was (0907) 993-9167.
“Scammer on the loose: This person, misrepresenting himself as ex-Cong. Nene Sato contacted the wrong guy when he asked me for financial support to rebuild a typhoon-damaged orphanage building in Occidental Mindoro … Gotcha, idiot!” he said.
He urged the public to be extra careful against such individuals now that those affected by the recent typhoons are still recovering.
