One Is Not Enough
This case will definitely give you something to think about concerning scammers. Early on, the client involved here expressed his concern, wanting to have peace of mind about a girl he has been in communication with for more than two years. We have been compiling information on this young lady for a short while now. If she only knew.
Meet Miss, (or is that Mrs.?) Ronielyn Rosal (goes by Lyn), aged 24 and single? Lyn met our client on the internet. (What do I always say about meeting girls on the internet, guys?)
The client stated in an early email to me:
"Met her on the internet. She was internet café every day. (Some how, she paid to be at internet café even though she had no job.) Talked to me every day, conversation always came around to money. I told her if she wasn't interested in building love, I didn't want to talk with her. We didn't talk 3 months, she constantly messaged and emailed, finally when she threatened to kill herself, I agreed to talk to her more. She stopped asking for money. She moved to a boarding house in Cebu (address on file with PMC). Says she goes to church very Sunday, and talks to me at Extreme Internet Café after. Constantly Chikka messages me on her cell."
You see, this gentleman was planning to come here to see Ronielyn Rosal, to verify if she was a suitable mate for him, to possibly marry her. However, the one thing that saved him was the love for his child. Allow me to explain. Our client wanted to make sure, quite certain in fact, that the future step mother of this child would be a quality individual. So, in not truly knowing the girl he has been communicating with, for all this time, he wanted to make sure that he had peace of mind, prior to spending almost countless dollars on plane fare, meals, vehicle travel, lodging, and then later visas, clearances, St. Luke's physical, etc. to take this woman to the states.
Of course, this gentleman didn't send Ronielyn Rosal a lot of money, only totaling around $300 USD at most. We know others who have lost much, much more than that to Filipina scammers.
PMC scheduled a time to meet Lyn, and got directions from her in order to meet up during the day at her residence. PMC showed up, having followed the directions given. We found the place where she lived, quite easily. It is a boarding house with a sari-sari store in front. (see photos, above) She supposedly was renting a room in the back. When we arrived, there was an old woman watching the store. PMC asked the lady if she knew a woman named Lyn, who has a foreigner boyfriend. She said (in Cebuano), “Yes I know Lyn but she is married and has kids. In fact her real name is Ronielyn.” We told the old lady, “Okay. That might not be her.”
A bit later, a young girl came outside, from the white gate adjacent to the store, letting us know that Ronielyn wasn't there because she went to the internet café.
We decided to ring Ronielyn's cell phone to make sure that we were at the right place. She answered the phone and said, “I am still at the internet café chatting with my boyfriend. I will be on the way to my place shortly.” About 15 minutes later, a lady showed up in front of us identifying herself as Lyn. PMC knew it was Lyn, because the client had sent us ample photos of her. PMC asked her how she showed up so quickly in front of us, as we didn’t notice her getting off a Jeepney, out of a taxi, or by walking up from the road. (Their place is just beside the road, in Mandaue City.) Instead, we saw her coming out from the white gated door adjacent to the sari-sari store. (See photo above, with the girl marked in red square.) Ronielyn Rosal simply replied, "I passed by the side gate." However, as you can see in the photo above, someone else was where she stated she had arrived from ... PMC. We had the camera in hand and took it as Ronielyn had just exited the gate to meet us.
Incidentally, the old lady who was originally watching the store, went inside and never came back out while we were there. There may be many reasons for this, and we can tell you why she didn't, in this case. She was embarrassed because she knew she had screwed up by giving us the information on Ronielyn Rosal. Is there a traitor in the midst, Ronielyn?
We chatted for a while and we wondered why Ronielyn was so defensive. While talking with her in general conversation, all of a sudden she blurted out, “I’m not chatting with anybody else online!” PMC replied, “We don’t care if you are or not. That is your business to deal with, not ours.” (Here, the guilty dog barked without ever having to be asked.) Oh, did we mention, upon Ronielyn coming out of the house to meet us, her hair was still wet? Hmm ... an internet café and shower? In my best Judy Tenuta voice, "It could happen!"
Anyway, after our meeting with Ronielyn Rosal, we met online with our client, letting him know the good (or bad, depending on how you look at it) news concerning his case. Ronielyn Rosal made it a point to text our client, letting him know that he should not use PMC as a guide service when he comes to the Philippines. You see, prior to this investigation someone had recommended us to the client, that he should seek our help upon arriving in Cebu. PMC could help him to become acclimated with the city and people of Cebu. After he mentioned this to Ronielyn Rosal, she wasn't overly happy about it.
Additionally, she told him that he would not be able to stay in her boarding house, as it was for girls only. In all actuality she left out a minor inconvenience. That was, there would be no room for the client in the boarding house, with Ronielyn's husband and children sharing the same space! The boarding house seems to be co-ed to me!
PLEASE NOTE: We don't know how many other guys Ronielyn Rosal may be scamming, or attempting to scam. However, she is, most definitely, using a computer from her home. She does not go to an internet café to communicate with them. Instead, she tells them that she is talking to them from a private room in the café.
Okay Ronielyn Rosal. You had better check out who is next on the list of possible targets for you. Because, this gentleman will be finding a good girl now, one who is truly worthy of him and his child. But it won't be you, dear. While you are still going there, we are well on the way back.
It Runs In The Family
Here is a local case (provincial area) that my partner had an early feeling about. I have to admit, we both were wondering if she was no good by the time the actual interview came up. We had other information that we were waiting on, but had not received it at the time of this conversation. Of course, we didn't want to prejudge this girl, as she may have just been a very anxious Filipina, only wanting to see her gifts, which we were taking to her.
Later though, the girl became almost infantile because we were unable to meet her at "her" scheduled time one day. We were about 65 kilometers from her at the time of our first communication. So, we couldn't meet then, instead setting up the meeting for the following day. She agreed.
Now, on the following day, and after sending us a text message indicating to us that she would gladly meet us, a short time later she sent a text, "If you don't tell me what the surprise is, I won't meet you."
I simply replied with, "That's okay. We will contact the client and let him know you refused the delivery." She just had to know what was sent, and why it wasn't sent directly to her, rather than through a courier. With us calling her bluff again, she agreed.
Anyway, our client had encountered a few 'bad' relationships in the past, and only wanted to make sure this one girl was being on the level with him, before getting too involved with her. He wanted assurance that she didn't want to be with him solely for money. Please read on.
This young woman had learned from her aunt, how to get to the US in the 'proper' manner. You see, her aunt had married an American some time before, only to later convince him take her to the states.
This gentleman then put the aunt through nursing school, helped her graduate and then secure a good job. She repaid him by simply walking away from him and their life together.
We learned the aunt had a Filipino boyfriend (who was still in the Philippines, at the time), for whom she intended to obtain a visa in order to get him to the US to be with her. She succeeded. So, at the expense of some guy who just didn't know his girl before marriage, she was bank rolled the beginnings of a good life for both her and her boyfriend. This left the guy with nothing but sad memories, and a lighter wallet.
Now, back to the niece who would gladly follow in her aunt's footsteps. Her intention was to marry our client (Canadian), have him pay her way through school, then only to divorce him so she could be with her aunt to the states! This would leave the Canadian gentleman high and dry... or so she thought. But, unbeknownst to her, she was nailed.
We know eventually, this girl may hook up with a foreigner solely because she wants to go to the US. She definitely has no desire to go abroad for love. Unfortunately, I doubt she, or those like her ever will change. It's just too easy for some girls to get money from a guy (or multiple guys at once) without a lifetime commitment being anywhere in the picture.
Incidentally, early in the conversation my partner had with this young woman, the girl suggested that my partner should, "Find another one (foreigner), who will take you to the states." My partner told her prior, that we had no money to leave the Philippines. I guess true love just can't be the reason for two people to stay together anymore.
The girl in the case above:
Miss Rosemarie M. Caminero.
The School Teacher
We just returned from Mindanao where this case took place. You know, sometimes, after communicating with a client, we almost instinctively have a positive feeling about a girl, as was in this case. In fact, I made it a point to tell him that same thing, after gathering everything he had to give us, concerning himself and his relationship with her. Note: This goes back to that little voice inside each of us, which is generally a good judge of a given situation, and those involved in it.
Anyway, I have been communicating with this gentleman for about two months. He had originally contacted me through someone else, who suggested he talk with us about his, then fiancée (another girl in the Philippines, but not the one in this case). I had communicated with him for a short while concerning the previous girl. It didn't take long to figure out the previous fiancée was bad, without ever having seen her. But, we had a different feeling about this lady, almost immediately. Our client, having been nailed hard by the previous girl, found it difficult to trust any woman from that point. So, he was not 100% sure of this lady. He contacted us to see if my partner and I could go to a small town in northern Mindanao, in order to interview her. After communicating with him and retrieving the information needed to begin, we headed out to Mindanao, for more research and the interview.
We originally were supposed to arrive there early that morning. However, due to delays from a previous stop, we didn't arrive until early afternoon (13:30 GMT +8) that day. So, we weren't sure if we would even be able to locate her, as we had other preparations to make prior to meeting her for the interview. Fortunately, after we checked into the hotel, got a shower, and took care of the other arrangements needed (prior to our meeting), we were able to contact her.
She agreed to meet at a local restaurant and talk for a while. (In this case, the client had asked us, specifically, if we could meet her family and get a better assessment of her, as she had given him information that could be contradictory to what we may have found there.) Anyway, the client contacted his fiancée ahead of time, letting her know he knew someone who would be in town to visit. He made arrangements for her to meet with us and then take us to her home. Upon arriving, we were immediately welcomed by these folks and sat down for a long talk through mid-afternoon and into the early evening. This of course, included a nice Filipino meal we had picked up in town, prior to heading to her home.
During the conversation with her, we found that she had taken on many added responsibilities (which many Filipinas do) for her family. She is a school teacher by day and a mother by night. You see, her children are actually her niece and nephew, not her own. So, she had gone above and beyond in order to take care of them, as well as her own mother who is aging now. This is one of the many things we found out through our preliminary research, and during our lengthy interview with her. She has also never even had a boyfriend, believe it, or not.
In short, this whole family is good as gold, unlike some cases we have had in the past, where "scamming" even seems to run in the family. After spending quite a few hours with her and her family, in their warm home, we both had come to the same conclusion about her. Our client is a winner with this lady. PMC wishes them the best.
The Misinterpreted View
A young man recently contacted me through a bulletin board (BBS), of which I am a member. At first, he and I were simply communicating about relationships, filing of marriage applications and about the requirements of having a civil ceremony. (These are services we offer through another website, which he knew about at the time.) He was talking about how happy he was with his girl, and how he wanted to have the perfect wedding, etc. for her. Then, we got off the topic a bit (how about 180°!), and he started talking about how he didn't really trust her. At this point I became confused, quite confused.
This client, on one hand, was asking for advice on marriage and how to go about with the wedding, paperwork, etc., due to his love for this girl, yet, he felt like he didn't trust her. Well, I did what I always do ... I offered him my best advice, going by the information he gave me to work with. In my opinion, at the time anyway, I felt as though the girl may have been bad, but I wasn't sure. I didn't want to make a harsh judgment on anyone, especially since I wasn't feeling right about the information given to us. Of course, I have seen so many scammers in the past and how they work. So, I definitely wasn't sure myself.
The client and I continued swapping e-mails over the course of about a week, the whole time I was gathering information needed for this case. He finally decided that he wanted us to check out his girlfriend. So we agreed to a price and I scheduled a trip to another province in the Visayas. Everything went wonderfully for PMC. In fact, the timing could not have been better. We arrived at the perfect time, and she happened to be in town at the time. So, we were able to meet up with her within just a few hours of our actual arrival there.
We knew we needed to agree to meet in a public place. So, we chose to meet at the ever so popular, local Jollibee. For those of you who do not know, it is the "McDonald's" of the Philippines. Anyway, we met there about 11am. Of course, there was one minor problem in this case... the girl wasn't anything like the client had thought, at all. We soon determined what was wrong in this relationship.
That is, the client had basically misunderstood the actions of the one he loved. He needed some time to get to know the culture, and sharing our (western) culture with her. That was it, in a nut shell.
He seems to be basically a good guy, as I have spoken by phone, and communicated with him via e-mail on several occasions. However, he, like many foreigners before him, had two bridges yet to cross:
1. He is still new and learning about the Filipino culture, thus he simply misunderstood her actions and words.
2. He was self-admittedly insecure when it comes to his fiancée, resulting in him not trusting her.
I made it a point to talk with him about this, as I called him a little while after we had completed the interview. His fiancée had genuine reasons and explanations for their miscommunications, which he simply misinterpreted as lying. She was as genuine as a girl can get. I personally believe she has a good heart, and her intentions concerning her relationship with our client are quite genuine and true. PMC wishes them the best in their future together.
The Internet Café
We just completed, what is possibly the shortest case we ever were summoned to work on. Our total time on the case was about two and a half hours.
We went to a home today to visit a Filipina, due to being contacted by a friend early that morning to see if we wanted a case to work on, which was right here in Cebu City.
I can say, we always want to prove if a girl is good, hopefully, over bad. So, we hope for the best. However, once someone contacts us wanting us to find information for them... it usually doesn't end up on a positive note. Think about it, if a guy is comfortable in his relationship, he wouldn't have a reason to contact us. However, if he's not... that's another story.
Anyway, we received all necessary information from our friend, including this Filipina's home address. We then enlisted the aid of a local taxi driver and drove to her home. Upon arriving, we found her brother and daughter in the place, which was a small business, an internet café which had recently opened. (Considering the building with recent paint, new computers, wires, internet connection, etc. there, it was quite obvious to us this was a new set up.) They also had an existing Sari-Sari store, which apparently had been in business for a while. There were about six computers inside, with an area for about another dozen or so more. So, they had future plans of expansion, as well.
After, we determined the lady wasn't there, due to speaking with the lady's brother. He said she was out shopping for their store (the sari-sari). We asked when the lady would return home. Her brother told us to give her about an hour, which would put her home about 4pm or so. Of course, on Filipino time, she could return in a week without worry. :)
During the conversation, the lady's daughter asked, "What is this foreigner bringing for my mother?" My partner replied, "Chocolate." The girl asked, "Is that all? No money?" The daughter then proceeded to plunder through the bag my partner held, to verify the contents ... only unwanted chocolate bars.
The brother wanted us to wait, so we did... for a while. I agreed for a few minutes, anyway. During this time, he attempted to use several low (or empty) SIM packs, to call the lady whom we were supposed to meet, to no avail.
We were going to wait for her to return from the market. After a short while though, I decided it would probably be much better just to leave and return later. However, considering the sensitivity of this case, I later decided it best not to return, but instead to call this lady by cell phone, after talking it over with my partner.
So, we told them we would leave and return in an hour or two, instead of waiting there for her to return. Just before leaving, the guy wanted a number to contact me, as he was under the impression that I was very new in the country. I told him I was staying with a friend in a nearby barangay, but did not know the number there. So, he wrote his cell number, as well as his sister's (the lady we were there to interview) cell phone, on a piece of paper for me to take with us. This way, I could contact her later to meet, if necessary. However, that would not be necessary, as we later learned. You see, we did end up calling the lady, to interview her directly.
We did not want to reveal our primary numbers. So, I purchased another Smart SIM pack to put in my phone. My partner contacted her from this number. Anyway, here is how the conversation went, verbatim, when my partner called her via cell phone, that afternoon (real names have been changed):
Scammer: Hello.
PMC: Hi, this is Jane I'm Rick's girlfriend. We went to your house to take you some chocolates from John.
Scammer: That's it? There is not other package or anything? No money?
PMC: No, Just chocolates. I know you don't want the chocolate, because it's only one bar.
Scammer: Yes, my daughter saw it. How long have you known Rick? How long has he been here?
PMC: I have known him for four months. He has been here for a couple of days only. The main reason we that we wanted to meet you, is my boyfriend wants to meet you because he knows John, from the US.
Scammer: Yes. I remember one time John said he had a friend who is going to come here, and John would come with him sometime in February. But John hooked back up with his ex-wife, and didn't come. He (John) is already old. But it's okay, as long as he (John) is sending me money to support my family. That is why I was able to buy computers and start an internet café. How about your boyfriend? Was he sending you money too, before he came here?
PMC: Well, he didn't send me money before he came here, but he gave me some after he arrived.
Scammer: That's no good. Why didn't you ask him for money when he was still in the states? At least he will not know where you spent it.
PMC: It's okay. Maybe he's going to give me some more money while he is staying here.
Scammer: I want to meet both of you. I prefer it to be in Ayala. It's much more convenient and there are some good restaurants, like the Majestic.
PMC: Okay, I will text you later, what we are going to do.
Scammer: Okay, bye.
PMC: Bye.
So, once again, and we cannot stress this enough, please take your time when meeting someone online anywhere, not only those in the Philippines. There are scammers all over the world. The Philippines just happens to be the territory we cover. Also, from the simple, but accurate dialog above, as well as what we learned from her family, prior to meeting her, we could tell a few things about the Filipina in question:
1. She was a scam artist, without question.
2. She doesn't care, whatsoever, about the guy who is feeding her, as long as he is sending her dollars, preferably USD.
3. She's an advisor to other, less "informed" Filipinas, to help them become better at scamming unsuspecting foreigners.
4. She thought she had a nicely priced meal out on me (the unsuspecting foreigner), with the help of her new friend, Jane.
However, she was wrong. She was nailed from the beginning of the conversation, even before the interview started. She just didn't know it at the time. Of course, once she talks to her boyfriend in the states, John, she will know something wasn't right because he has never met me, nor has he asked me to give a woman I don't know, chocolate. Speaking of chocolate, you know where it went? Well, I can't say for sure. But, I saw my partner licking her lips later that afternoon, with a bit of chocolate on her face.
Over the course of six months, the client gave this woman more than $8,000 USD. Believe me, he's not by himself here. There are plenty of these guys who are fooled every single day. But, if you are a scammer... look out.
The Flower Delivery
You know, some people will e-mail us, or post on lists or bulletin boards by attacking us and what we do here. They come off as holier than thou and believing that I do not like Filipinos. This simply is not true. If I didn't like Filipinos, I certainly wouldn't be living in the Philippines, and among so many of them. I love being around and accepted by Filipinos, especially those here in the Visayas, because they are the warmest people on the face of this planet. However, we are also being realistic when we say there are scammers here, just as there are in all countries in the world. We only focus on those in the Philippines, because it is our home, and where we work to help others.
Now, here is a case to show that all girls we meet are not bad. Since this gentleman was secure in his relationship, he had no need of our services. In fact, he had only hired us to deliver flowers for his fiancée, who was staying in Cebu at the time. So, this was a case that wasn't really supposed to happen at all. I'm quite sure he appreciated the reassurance of our delivery, as well as an e-mail I later dispatched to him.
Anyway, this gentleman and I started communicating some time back, via e-mail. He happened to mention that he needed a flower delivery, and wanted a place to deal with. I replied to him, letting him know this was one of the services we provided. I quoted him a price for the delivery, received his information and request and then set the date. We later made the delivery for him.
We contacted the young lady, asking where she lived so we could make a delivery to her, coming from her fiancé. She decided she would rather us meet in a local mall than in her home, which we did. Upon meeting her at the mall, she was pleasantly surprised to receive flowers and Toblerone chocolates (every Filipina's favorite, I believe). Anyway, we spoke with her for a short while, with my partner carrying on most of the conversation with her. During this conversation, my partner found out that young lady was a good-hearted Filipina, without question. This was without doing any other investigation whatsoever, on her. In fact, we later spoke about it on the way home.
Now, I will be the first to say we normally do not do this for anyone for free, as we are usually hired for the specific purpose of interviewing a Filipina, in order to find out similar information. But, since we were there for another reason, and it just happened to come up during the conversation, my partner spoke with her, finding out she was a good girl.
In addition, this gentleman and I had developed a friendship over time, and found out we had very similar backgrounds with 'previous' ex-wives. So, I wanted to tell him, just for the sake of doing so. When he received this information, he was as happy as a child in a candy store, to say the least.
So, while many of the cases may not produce wanted results, some will offer the best possible answer one could ever want. Furthermore, this proves to us if someone is happy in their relationship, they will know and have no possible reason to contact us for this sort of 'research'. However, if they are uncomfortable and believe the person they are involved with is not what they say they are, then there may be a reason to contact us for assistance. Like I have often said, trust your little voice inside. It will always be true to you.
The Working Girl
Below is the event which caused us to decide to start doing interviews and investigations, in order to help others who may be scammed by some girls.
Late last year, In another province, we have one friend who wanted us to help him with something. Our friend Bob needed someone to assist him, so he could prove to another guy (Joe), that Joe's girl friend was no good. Bob knew this Filipina only wanted to milk Joe for what he was worth, then dump him afterward. Well, we got an opportunity to do just that. As a group, Bob and his girl, Joe and his girl, and my partner and myself all decided to spend the day together, set up by Bob.
Well, being true to form, Filipinas will always talk... telling each other things that many would never share with their husbands or boyfriends, ever. So, the guys hooked up and went off to talk, and the girls hooked up to talk amongst themselves. Anyway, while the guys were talking, my partner and Bob's girl were making Joe's girl feel easy by just talking away. After a very short time, this girl revealed much more information than most guys would need in order to find her out. However, this didn't end like we thought it would, surprisingly.
During their conversation, our girls (Bob's and my partner) found out that Joe's girl was all set in what she wanted. She had an agenda, no doubt. You see, she was a former bargirl (in Cebu City), where Joe had originally met her. I'm not sure if he bar-fined her prior to them ultimately dating or not, but I believe he had. Naturally, this isn't something that most guys willingly admit to others, if it is how they really met their girlfriend. I mean, think about it. How many guys would say, "Yep, I bar fined Vickie and we have been together ever since. She's a doll, the woman of my dreams."
Anyway, during the course of their short relationship (at the time), this Filipina had told Joe that she would not "work" any longer, since they were now together. He bought it, hook, line, and sinker. She made it a point to brag to my partner and to Bob's girl, that she was, in fact still working and that she had an Australian sending her about Php 19,000 per month, as well as the money Joe was sending her, which was about Php 6,000 if I recall.
In addition, she still retained her "working" cell phone so clients were still able to contact her, the phone Joe thought was long gone. Also, she made it a point to tell the other girls, she had intentions of going to Japan to be a prostitute, so she could make even more money. What a dream for any woman to have.
Her true intention was to talk Joe into building her family a home, before she would agree to marry him. Once the home was built, she would throw him out like yesterday's garbage.
After Joe was informed about this whole conversation, with my partner and the other girl being able to provide proof for him, Joe refused to believe it. What's worse is, he chose to believe a girl whom he had known for a couple of months, over a friendship he had for five years, with another foreigner. Naive? Gullible? Thinking with the wrong head? Most definitely, all of the above.
In summary, through the course of an afternoon, the girls found out the following (and was recorded on tape, for proof):
1. This Filipina was an active prostitute, while her man was away in his home country and sending her money.
2. This Filipina had another foreigner sending her Php 19,000 per month, in order for her to live on as well.
3. This Filipina had two cell phones, one for her beau, and one for customers. Her beau only knew of one.
4. This Filipina is a scammer, making money from customers, as well as from some naive souls.
