CEBU CITY – What was supposed to be a lucky day turned into a nightmarish experience for this 42-year-old woman from Balamban town, Cebu province.
The woman, who asked not to be named, on Monday, Feb. 6, sought the help of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-Central Visayas (CDIG-7) after she lost at least P20,000 to a man who duped her into believing that she won P100,000 cash in the television show of Willie Revillame.
The woman, a farmer, said her misery started on Oct. 25, 2022 when she watched the game show of Revillame through Facebook Live.
During the show, viewers were asked to type their cellphone numbers on the comment box section as their raffle entries for the show’s raffle draw, the woman said.
The woman said she was quick to follow the show’s instructions in her desire to win a cash prize.
Moments later, a man called the woman up and introduced himself as Revillame.
The woman said the man sounded like Revillame and she thought she was really talking to the popular host. The woman said she was thrilled when “Revillame” told her that she was the lucky winner of P50,000.
The woman said the conversation was interrupted by another person who introduced himself as part of Revillame’s staff. The woman was then told that she won an additional P50,000, increasing her total winnings to P100,000.
During the course of the conversation, the woman was told she has to pay P2,700 as a processing fee for the release of her winnings. After some negotiations, the woman sent P2,700 to the man using Gcash.
On Oct. 28, 2022, the woman was instructed to send P4,500 as a “lifetime insurance fee.” On Nov. 3, 2022, the woman was again asked to send P5,350 as a fee to the company’s supposed in-house auditor and P3,400 as a receiving clearance fee.
The scammer once again called the woman on Nov. 28, 2022 and demanded another P4,600 as a payment for the litigation form from the law firm that was asked to process the victim’s winnings.
“I asked him why I was the one being collected with fees when I was the one who won. I was told that was the policy of the company,” the woman said.
Months passed but the woman did not get the promised winnings, prompting her to seek help from the police.
The woman also asked Revillame to help recover her P20,000. The woman said the P20,000 that she lost was already a big amount for someone like whose main source of income is through farming.
Just to make ends meet, the woman said she sometimes does the laundry of her neighbors. She also works as a caretaker of a tourist destination in Cebu City to earn additional income.
The woman lamented that she could have used the P20,000 for the tuition of her three children, one is already in college.
The CIDG-7 will be investigating the incident for the possible recovery of the woman’s money.
With the incident, police asked the public to be wary when being told by strangers that they won in a raffle game.