OFWs caution fellow OFWs vs. ‘online paluwagan’

A group of OFWs has warned their fellow OFWs against joining an "online paluwagan" scheme after they themselves became victims of what they described as a "scam."

Lured by the possibility of earning more, Marvin Nival, who works in a supermarket in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, said he invested P5,500 to a company called Coin Global hoping he could earn enough for his planned vacation to the Philippines.

Nival, 25, said the "online paluwagan" was started on November 18, 2017 by a certain Jayson Villanueva, who supposedly told them the business' sources of funds were trading and mining.

"The mechanics of this business is as simple as invest and earn within a 7-day time frame. When you invest P500, for example, you will get a 50% ROI [return of investment]," he said.

He said the "online paluwagan" or "onpal" has more than 3,000 members, not all of them OFWs. He added that he trusted Villanueva because "he's doing trading for three years now as what his profile said which makes the business attractive."

Raffle prizes

Aside from high ROI, the company also promised raffles with big prizes, Nival said.

"I had reviewed the business flow and it looked so well," he said. "It has no backlogs of payment, meaning the payment is always given on time. Raffles with high amount of prizes are also given such as P50,000 cash, 2 Samsung mobile phones with the total amount of P24,000, and a Hyundai Eon."

All was peachy, however, until Villanueva disappeared. Nival said everything went downhill from there.

"It was really a traumatic and horrible experience for me. I'm really hoping and looking forward that the government will help us to catch this person and be put in jail for the rest of his life," he said, referring to Villanueva.

GMA News Online has reached to Villanueva through Coin Global's Facebook page, but he has yet to reply as of posting time.

Alibis and apologies

Another victim, Samantha, a 31-year-old nurse in Saudi Arabia, said she invested to finance the house she bought in Iloilo. She said she invested three times after receiving two payouts where her P5,000 became P7,500 and her P10,000 became P15,000.

"I invested again for another P24,000 which is hindi na bumalik," she said, adding it was this time that she started hearing alibis and apologies from Villanueva.

"Nagduda na ako noon kasi dami niya nang delays and excuses," Samanta said."Kesyo daw magka-calibrate siya ng Bitcoin Mining."

Alfiejoy, a 38-year-old caregiver in Taiwan, said she joined Coin Global to augment her income. Her first investment was P5,000. She did not receive any ROI.

"Invest, wait, and earn. Ang P5,000 ay magiging P12,000 in one week. So ako naman, na-engganyo na sumali sa kagustuhan na madagdagan man lang ang pang-New Year namin," she said.

Scammed?

"Pero lumipas ang ilang araw na hindi makapag-payout yung ibang investor, tuluyan nang hindi nagparamdam 'yung founder ng Coin Global. Dun namin na-realize na na-scam na kami."

Eva Gutierrez, a former OFW in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, was another victim

"Sumali ako kasi ang daming members. Ang lalaki ng amount na in-invest nila sa group na 'yun so talagang mahihikayat ka na mag pay-in rin," said Gutierrez, who invested P2,500, an amount she earned from investing into other crypto-related sites.

"Nung una, nakakapag pay-out pa siya sa ibang members and then suddenly, hindi na nakatanggap yung iba. One whole day, nawala yung founder at hindi ma-contact," she said.

As an advice to fellow OFWs, Alfiejoy has this to say: "Huwag basta-basta maniwala at magtiwala sa mga 'invest, wait, and earn' na 'yan. Buti na lang at hindi ako nakapagbitaw ng mas malaking halaga." --KBK, GMA News