Doctor lured into interacting with assistant's dummy profile in 'love scam'

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) arrested a woman who made a fake online profile, pretend to be a man in order to lure her female boss into a "love scam."

In John Consulta’s report on "24 Oras" on Friday, NBI agents could be seen going to the suspect’s house. When the agents called the number of the fake profile, the suspect’s phone rang. This is when the suspect was apprehended.

The target was the assistant of a doctor who had filed a complaint at the NBI.

The NBI said the suspect was aware that the boss was brokenhearted. The assistant then created a fake account of a man to make her boss fall in love.

The suspect then proceeded to ask money from her boss and this continued for over a year.

Sally Laguardia, the Chief of the NBI’s Human Trafficking Division said the modus was exposed when the doctor showed the picture of the man to a friend. That friend happened to know the man.

“They called this man and that was where she proved that the dummy account was fake,” Laguardia said in Filipino.

The suspect initially tried to deny any wrongdoing, but when presented with the man whose picture she was using, she could no longer deny it.

“I admit it, I used his identity,” the suspect said.

Laguardia said that the suspect faces charges of estafa and identity theft, the former being filed by the man whose identity she used.

Do not fall for these love scams, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) identified common types of love scammers targeting Filipinos. Victims may report love scams to the CICC hotline 1326, or call or text 0991-481-4225, 0947-714-7105, or 0966-976-5971. — Jean Mangaluz/BAP, GMA News