A woman in Davao City allegedly fell victim to what may be an online loan scam. She was enticed to grab the offer for a loan from a social media page as she needed money.

“Lahat ng kailangan nilang kunin sa akin like my ID, I have 3 IDs there, I give even my bank account. Kasi nakita ko lahat yung ano nila, parang totoo talaga,” Romero said.

The woman, Jocelyn Romero, said copies of supposed government permits for the business entity were sent to her, but she could not ascertain if those were legitimate.

After submitting the needed requirements, the loan applicant will be added to a group chat with other alleged applicants.

The company would then ask a certain amount from the applicant if the latter could not provide a collateral.

Romero gave P7,600, hoping that her P70,000 loan will be released.

“Meron siyang two things na para makakuha kami ng ano-first, hinihiling niya ay collateral, which we don’t have at second yun nga kung magkano ‘yung loan mo, magbibigay ka like, for me, 70k ang kukunin ko, magbibigay ka sa amin ng 7.7k,” Romero said.

However, Romero’s loan was not released and she was informed that the fund transfer got stuck as she allegedly gave a wrong bank account number. She was also told to send P23,000 to rectify the error.

“Sabi niya inorder to rectify daw lahat is magbibigay daw ako ng another P23,100 which I don’t have. Ang gusto ko lang is yung IDs ko at ang pangalan ko kasi I gave 3 IDs,” she added.

The Davao City Anti-Scam Unit referred the incident to the Regional Anti-Cybercrime Unit for investigation.

GMA Regional TV One Mindanao tried to reach the administrator of the social media page for comment.

Authorities urged the public to check the legitimacy of a business entity.

“Ilang pangitaan og clearances labi na gyud ning sa SEC kay ang atoang clearances sa SEC kay kung nagakuha siyag investment, naa man gud nay secondary license. So, kung wala sila ana, meaning dili gyud na legit,” Davao City Anti-Scam Unit Chief, Simplicio Sagarino, said.