NBI reminds seniors to beware of 'love scams,' 'budol-budol' amid pandemic

Seniors are reminded to beware of potential "love scams" and "budol-budol" schemes that have become rampant amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Unang Hirit's informative segment "Hirit ni Mareng Winnie," NBI Cybercrime chief Victor Lorenzo said the cybercrime cases reported to their department alone have "increased by 100%" as the public spent more and more time online amid the pandemic.

Victims of these so-called "love scams" have suffered financial losses ranging from P1 million to P17 million.

Lorenzo also noted that suspects are usually foreigners, and most of the targets are retired senior citizens.

“Ang basic rule lang naman diyan, when it’s too good to be true, it is not true," said the NBI official.

"Hindi natin sinasabi that all those people who want to be friendly online are scammers. Exert effort to validate."

A financial adviser shared tips on how seniors can protect their hard-earned life-savings.

"We should still look for ways to generate income," said Rienzie Biolena.

"Maganda 'to even in our senior years kasi 'yung utak natin is tumatakbo parin. You can teach, you can also pursue your passion, you can still invest."

Winnie Monsod, a prominent educator, economist, and analyst, also had some advice for her fellow seniors.

"For the love scams and get-rich-quick scams, anytime I do not know who sent me a message, I don't even read it — I delete it," said Mareng Winnie.

"You cannot allow yourselves to be victimized by this because ang pera niyo, ang hard-earned money niyo, huwag niyo hong ibigay sa iba." — Margaret Claire Layug/LA, GMA News