Antipolo City Mayor Jun Ynares warned citizens anew against fake business establishments, particularly resorts, which have been scamming people following a series of incidents involving fake resorts allegedly operating in the city.
Ynares said that despite cautioning the public regarding fake pages posing as resorts in Antipolo, the city government detected a new social media page that is using photos from another establishment.
Ynares named the fake business as White Pearl Resort.
"Walang business na nag e-exist na ganyan ang pangalan sa Antipolo ayon sa Business Permits and Licensing Office (BPLO) at Tourism Offices sa city hall. Wala din sa mga registered businesses sa Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) portal (That business does not exist in our BPLO and Tourism Offices database. White Pearl Resort is also not included in DTI's portal of registered businesses)," the mayor said.
"Ang mga pictures na ginagamit nila sa mga fake posts ay mga grabbed photos mula sa isang private resort sa Cagayan de Oro City (The pictures posted on their social media page are grabbed photos from a private resort in Cagayan de Oro City)," he added.
Aside from White Pearl Resort, other fake pages detected by the city government include Lovely Private Resort, Hidden Night in Paradise Private Resort, and The Montemayor Private Pool.
The local government unit (LGU) cited tips to prevent people from being scammed by fake businesses:
1. Double check if the page you are looking at is the official page of the establishment despite it having multiple likers and followers.
2. Refrain from immediately transacting online especially if it involves a large sum of money and you don't know who you are transacting with.
3. Verify with local and national government agencies if the establishment really does exist in their respective databases. The DTI has a website where users may see the full list of registered businesses in the country (https://bnrs.dti.gov.ph/search)
4. Immediately report dubious transactions to authorities.