A 25-year-old marine engineer from Sampaloc, Manila, reported losing P8,000 in an alleged online scam involving a fake iPhone transaction through Facebook Marketplace on Monday, September 8.

The victim, identified as Mark Kennedy Alferez narrated the incident when he personally appeared at the Manila Police District-Barbosa police station at around 11:52 a.m. on September 9.

According to Alferez, at around 9 p.m. on September 8, he saw a listing for a second-hand Apple iPhone 12. 

After negotiating with the seller, who identified himself as “Vincent G. Santos” through his Messenger account, they agreed to settle downpayment worth P8,000.

To gain the victim’s trust, the suspect instructed Alferez to book a Lalamove delivery rider who would supposedly pick up the unit from the seller’s provided address at No. 22 Ninong Rufino Street, Brgy. 169, Caloocan City.

The booking was automatically assigned to Gemar Faburada, a Lalamove rider, and the victim was later informed when the rider arrived at the said location.

At around 9:35 p.m., Alferez sent the payment via GCash in two separate transactions of P4,000 each to a GCash account number provided by the seller.

However, after sending the money, both the rider and the seller became unreachable through calls and messages.

Realizing he had been scammed, Alferez went to the police the following morning to file a complaint.

Authorities from the Intelligence and Follow-up Section have been dispatched to investigate the matter and verify the details, including the pick-up location and the identity of the alleged scammer. 

Police are now urging residents to be cautious when engaging in online transactions, especially on Facebook Marketplace, and to immediately report to the nearest police station if they receive suspicious offers or encounter the same seller identified as “Vincent G. Santos.” 

As of this writing, the case remains under investigation pending further evidence and supporting documents for possible case filing.