Kapuso stars Rocco Nacino and Yasmien Kurdi revealed being victims of fraudsters who scammed them out of their earnings.

In a recent Zoom session for the new series "The Missing Husband," which will premiere on Aug. 28, Rocco and Yasmien advised the public to exercise caution and sound judgment when deciding where to invest their money.

"Sa scam, nangyari na po once. And marami ng attempts na mahanap yung tao but to no avail. Before magbigay ng cheke laging nagpa-follow up,  kung tuloy pa raw ba? Kahit ang dali sabihin marami pa rin ang nasisilaw sa ganyang salita. Sometimes yung taong nakakausap namin they were able to show it. Sa panahon ngayon, maraming nag-take advantage noong pandemic, maraming naapektuhan. Kaya maraming interesado sa get-rich-quick money scheme," said Rocco, 36, questioned about it.

(The scam has occurred before, and despite numerous attempts to track down the perpetrator, no one has been caught. The scammer always follows up before asking for payment, and many still fall for it. Some people can see through the scam, but many have been taken advantage of during the pandemic and are interested in get-rich-quick schemes.)

"Sa case ko akala ko na maibabalik ang pera, wala na akong narinig sa tao na yun until now. There's so much I can do na sana bumalik yung tao na yun pero naniniwala ako sa karma. Babalik naman (yung nawalang pera) in some other way.  Sa ngayon magtrabaho ng maayos para malinis yung perang matatanggap.

(In my case, I believed the money would be returned, but I am still waiting to hear back from that person. I believe in karma and trust that the lost money may be returned in other ways. Let's work hard to earn honest money.)

"Single pa ako nun (noong nangyari yun). Yung time na wala pa akong alam sa business. Tapos meron tayong makikilala na baka itong tao na ito ay may dalang opportunity or coincidence ito. Pero hindi pala.Yung mga bagay na ito dapat talagang pinag-aaralan. So ngayon mas maingat tayo sa pera at matinding research ang ginagawa ko at marami akong kinakausap muna bago tumuloy sa isang investment. I'm sure lahat tayo ganun na dapat," said Rocco.

(When that happened, I was still single and knew nothing about business. Sometimes, we meet someone who seems like an opportunity, but studying before investing is essential. Now, I'm more cautious with my money, researching and speaking to many people before investing. We should all be more careful.)

Yasmien, 34, said she has never been scammed out of a million pesos. But she discussed a different kind of scam.

"Wala naman akong major scam na nawalan ng milyon-milyon. Pero I've experienced din na may nanloko sa akin before kunwari pagpapa construct sa house tapos palpak yung ginawa. Bumagsak yung kisame. Nagtapon ng maraming basura sa gutter tapos ayaw panagutan yung ginawa nila. Tapos kinuha na sa'yo yung money.

(I have not personally lost millions to a scam, but I have experienced being cheated by someone who pretended to build a house for me. However, the work was done poorly, and they refused to take responsibility for it. They also took my money.)

"Kaya now nagpapa renovate ako ng house I make sure na hindi ko na uli kukunin yung taong yun. Ang sama sa pakiramdam na may taong ayaw panagutan yung ginawa niyang kapalpakan. So be a responsible contractor kapag may ginawa ka sa isang client. At kapag may palpak, balikan mo at hindi yung pinabayaan mo. Siyempre bahay yun. That's your safe place or relaxing place na pupunta ka galing work at pagod tapos makikita mo ganun lang. Kinuha lang yung money. I felt na naloko ako nung time na yun.

(While renovating my home, I had a bad experience with an irresponsible contractor who refused to fix their sloppy work. Hiring responsible contractors who will take accountability for their mistakes is essential, especially in safe and relaxing spaces like our homes. Unfortunately, I felt cheated out of my money.)

"Pero meron din scam na panloloko sa husband and wife. Kapag nanloko kayo sa asawa ninyo. Scam din yun eh. Ibig sabihin niloloko mo sila. Buti na lang loyal ang asawa ko. Kunwari nagkaroon ka ng another person or other woman or other man. Baka hindi mo alam perahan ka lang di ba? May mga friends din akong ganun. Naubos ang savings nila dahil nagkaroon ng other woman si guy at nawala na yung savings. Huwag naman ganun na savings kasi yun ng mag-asawa. Huwag naman ganun to that extent kasi panloloko din yun. That's also a scam. Masakit yun emotionally and financially. Makakasira ka pa ng pamilya. So huwag yun," the actress said.

(But there is also a scam where the husband and wife are cheated. When you cheat on your wife, that's also a scam. It means you're cheating. Fortunately, my husband is loyal. Suppose you had another person, another woman, or another man. You don't know they are just after the money, right? I have friends like that too. Their savings ran out because the guy had another woman. Don't be like that to that extent because that's also fraud. It hurts emotionally and financially. You can even destroy a family. So don't do that.)

In search of missing husband

“The Missing Husband” follows the story of OFWs in Qatar, Anton (Rocco Nacino) and Millie (Yasmien Kurdi), who venture to work abroad away from their families to save enough money for their future. However, their plans were disorganized when Millie got pregnant. They try to start anew in the Philippines. After getting married, the two signed up for an investment opportunity. Anton invests all their life savings and invites several others to join. 

Later on, Anton finds out that the business is a scam. He and Millie lost all their hard-earned possessions, which caused conflict in their marriage. Things became more complicated when Anton received death threats from those he invited to the investment scheme.

Anton promised Millie that he would fix everything. Until one morning, Anton vanishes, leaving blood all over their kitchen. Was there someone who tried to kill him? Or was it all part of his escape plan? Where can Millie find her missing husband?

Mark Reyes, director of the afternoon series, said that "The Missing Husband" focuses on overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and the proliferation of scammers in the country.

"You're dealing with a fictional couple here, but when you watch the series, you will watch several Filipinos particularly mga OFWs, na na-scam. Pinaghirapan nila yung kita nila sa ibang bansa, malayo sila sa pamilya nila tapos yun pa ang mangyayari sa kanila, at maloloko sila ng kapwa Pilipino. So masakit. It's very relevant hindi lang sa mga OFWs, kundi pati na rin sa mga ibang tao sa ating bansa. Maraming manloloko pero hindi nila nakikita yung other side na ang daming naaapektuhan. Family goes against family. A husband fights his wife. So it's really a complicated issue.

(You're dealing with a fictional couple here, but when you watch the series, you will watch several Filipinos, particularly OFWs, who have been scammed. They worked hard to earn their income abroad; they were far from their families, and that's all. Sometimes, fellow Filipinos will cheat on them. So it hurts. It is very relevant not only to OFWs but also to other people in our country. There are many cheaters, but they don't see the other side that is affected the most. The family goes against the family. A husband fights his wife. So it's a complicated issue.)

"This is one of the facets that the show wants to present. We may be entertaining the audience with a drama and the story. But of course, there are relevant issues and matters discussed.  Siguro warning na rin na pwedeng ma-scam or na-scam na dati na dapat maging mas maingat dahil hindi lang ikaw ang maaapektuhan n'yan kundi buong pamilya mo: asawa mo, anak mo, kaibigan mo, maaapektuhan hindi lang ikaw kundi lahat ng tao," the director said.

Mark also thanked GMA Network for allowing them to shoot some scenes abroad. "We didn't want to shortchange the audience, so we shot in the Middle East to establish the characters. So, we were allowed by the management and the network to shoot in the UAE. We get the locations and the sense of reality of the OFWs. Grabe yung pinagdaanan ni Anton dito eh. Nawala siya pero nakita siya at may ibang nangyari. We really need to up the ante and put a premium on it para maging exciting ito sa manonood."

Aside from Rocco and Yasmien, the series is headlined by Jak Roberto as Joed, Sophie Albert as Ria, and Joross Gamboa as Brendan.

Also starring in the action-suspense drama are Nadine Samonte as Nona, a devoted wife and mother; Shamaine Buencamino as Sharon, Anton’s clingy and dependent mother; Michael Flores as Banong, Anton’s happy-go-lucky and lazy brother-in-law; Maxine Eigenmann as Leila, the grumpy and rude sister of Anton; Cai Cortez as Glenndolyn, Millie’s fierce yet funny best friend; Bryce Eusebio as Norman, the nerdy and aloof son of Leila and Banong; Patricia Coma as Arya, the intelligent and achiever daughter of Nona.

The gripping series is produced by the award-winning GMA Entertainment Group headed by Senior Vice President Lilybeth G. Rasonable; Vice President for Drama Cheryl Ching-Sy; Assistant Vice President for Drama Ali Marie N. Dedicatoria; Senior Program Manager Antonio R. Pastorpide; and Executive Producer Mavic O. Tagbo.

The highly-talented creative team behind “The Missing Husband” is composed of Creative Director Aloy Adlawan; Creative Head Dode Cruz; Head Writer Marides Severino; Writers Renato Custodio Jr., Mark Duane Angoas, Maria Christina S. Velasco; Brainstormer Cynthia A. Paz.

Catch the world premiere of “The Missing Husband” Mondays to Fridays at 4:05 p.m. on GMA Afternoon Prime and Pinoy Hits beginning Aug. 28.