Las Piñas house owner files complaint against scammer

A house owner in Las Piñas City on Wednesday filed a complaint with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

The move came after more than 10 delivery riders were earlier swindled by a certain AJ Pande, who used a food delivery service application to do the scheme.

According to Saleema Refran’s report on “24 Oras” on Wednesday, the owner said they did not know any one named "AJ Pande."

“Sabi ko wala namang nakatira ditong ganoong pangalan, Nagpapa-deliver siya lagi as in araw-araw, sampu, fifteen tapos ginagamit ‘yong address namin,” the owner said.

Her husband, meanwhile, said Pande hacked their emails, social media accounts and credit cards.

“He hacked our emails, Facebook accounts, he even hacked our credit cards and we had to cancel all our credit cards,” he said, adding that he already filed a complaint with the NBI.

“The riders, we just feel sorry for them because they just wasted their trips and for the sellers... we’re all victims,” the owner said.

According to witness Natalie dela Cruz, who posted the incident on her Facebook account, Pande gave different contact numbers but the same address to the delivery riders.

"Nakwento sa 'kin ng mga rider na pinick up po nila sa seller 'yung order ni AJ Pande. Paiba-iba 'yung contact number na binigay ni AJ pero same address,” dela Cruz said.

This is not the first time an incident such as this happened amid the quarantine period. In May, several delivery riders and restaurant owners were victimized by a similar scheme.

This type of scheme is the basis for a proposed bill filed in Congress, House Bill No. 6958, or the Food and Grocery Delivery Service Protection Act in which the scammer when found guilty will have to pay fines worth up to P100,000 and imprisonment of up to six years. -- Ma. Angelica Garcia/BAP, GMA News