Tips on How to Spot A Scam

(I have this blog drafted a few years ago and it was not published.. so I'm publishing it now :))

How it all started

I got a call from a certain Col. Hernani Acosta and told me that he is the National Adviser of a group in Camp Aguinaldo (forgot to note and I don't remember the group name)

Col Acosta was asking me for donations to help in "balik-eskwela". He said that it's a fundraising project to help children in the armed forces.

I asked him how he got my contact number and he said that it's in their database. He gave me details on where to send the money and advised me that he will call me again to follow up.

How I learned about the scam

The organization I am connected to are serving in City Jail so I thought that they got my number from them but I doubled check just to be sure.

I search for Camp Aguinaldo's number in the net and asked them about the program and If they know Col Acosta. They said that they don't know him and also advised me that it is a scam when I told them about my conversation with col. Acosta.


I googled the net after and found these.
https://adbontures.wordpress.com/2018/11/12/col-acosta-scam/

http://www.scamcallfighters.com/scam-call-09287531400-Hernani-Acosta-scam--will-invite-you-to-join-a-charity---be-scammed-Fake-Charity-37238.html

https://tipidpc.com/viewtopic.php?tid=112047&page=97

http://baguiomidlandcourier.com.ph/business.asp?mode=%20archives/2015/august/8-16-2015/bus2-Baguio-businessmen-receive-suspicious-solicitation-letters.txt

They are scamming people for years already and some people still fall for their scam.

How to Spot a SCAM

1. Contacting you out of the blue

You did not sign up for their program but they have your contact number.

If this happens, ask them where and how they get your information and also get information from them that you can use later to check more about their company and their offer.

2. Money is involved

They are soliciting, borrowing or they are asking for your money to be invested somewhere.

If the one asking money is a friend, make sure to call him/her to verify it's really your friend you are communicating with. 

There are several instances I have seen on facebook (one happened to a friend of mine) where someone is using a friend's Facebook account asking for money but it turns out that his account is compromised/hacked and can't login to his account.

3. Urgent / Rush / Emergency

When someone is asking you to decide immediately on the matter, or if someone is asking you to do something because it's an emergency.

If this happens, try to relax and think (you cannot think clearly if you are in a panic mode). If there is someone near you, ask for their opinion before deciding on the matter.

4. Asking personal information

I got a call several months ago who claims to be from a credit card company and he is asking me personal information. I decline from answering their questions because if they are really from my credit card company, they already have my information. They don't have to ask me that.

If ever someone calls asking for personal information, please think twice before answering because people can use your personal information to scam others or use it to obtain loans or purchase goods using your name.

What serving in Prison Have Taught Me

Working from home gave me the chance to arrange my schedule so that I can have time to attend or do the things that are close to my heart that ordinary employee can't do. (well, they can also do, but it would require great sacrifice because some of the things that I attended is during office hours)

Last 2014, I have decided to be part of the Prison Ministry so I called my leader to volunteer my time.  Our service is on weekdays so the service team was mostly seniors who dedicated their time and effort to serve in prison.

I was the youngest but they choose me to head the ministry.

Serving in prison makes me understand our PDL (Person deprived of liberty) more.

1. They are a child of God and they deserve love especially from their family

During our visits. Some PDL's would ask us a favor. Some would give us notes with a mobile number asking us to text the message. Most of the messages are a flea for a visit. (Of course, we ask the guard to check each note first to be sure that we are not violating anything).

2.  They long for acceptance

I have been serving in my community for more than a decade and I felt the huge difference during the part where we sing the song "Welcome to the family". (This is the signal that they have completed the 12 sessions Christian Life Program and are now part of the community)

What we normally do during that time is we go to the participants and gave them a hug or cheek-to-cheek or handshake to congratulate them for finishing the CLP program and becoming a member of the family ministry.

In a church-based set-up, the participants normally have a very wide smile in the face while we welcome them, but in the prison, most of them hugged me tightly and saying thank you while crying.

3. They have more connection with God.

They are more prayerful than me. Yes, I know, they have all the time in the world because they are don't have lots of activities like the rest of us because they are in prison, but even so, I sometimes feel guilty when talking to them because when we would ask them about their prayer time, you can feel their intense desire to pray more .. to be united with God. You can also feel that they already lifted up their lives to God.

Serving in the prison is not an easy task because aside from the time to set aside for service, one should be emotionally ready to listen and to give your love to the prisoners but all I can say is that it's all worth it.