Fortunately, a 74-year-old grandmother avoided the love scam when she rejected the P2-million offer and marriage of a man who introduced himself as his retired general of the US Army.
In a report by Mark Salazar on GMA News “Unang Balita” on Wednesday, it was said that Lola Aida Real described herself on social media as a 74-year-old widow and business owner.
According to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the profile of grandmother Aida is “gold in the eyes” of a love scammer.
“Ipo-profile ka muna nila. Unang-una, tinitingnan nila ‘yung financial capability mo. Anong financial background ng family mo? At the same time, nag-iisa ka ba?” said Vic Lorenzo, chief of NBI Cybercrime Unit.
A self-proclaimed retired general in the U.S. Army courted Lola Aida.
“Kahit English carabao naintindihan niya eh. Meron akong maliit na business sabi ko. Pero sapat lang para sumuporta sa anak ko,” said Aida.
Grandma almost fell victim to love scam of a ‘US Army general’
“Oo siyempre. Kasi sabi ko noon baka sakali doon gumanda ang buhay ko. Nagbabaka sakali rin,” Lola Aida said when she was asked if she still hopes for true love.
As part of his love scam modus operandi, the online lover told Lola Aida that she would be sent dollars.
According to Lola Aida, her “lover” allegedly sent up to P2 million and even revealed that he planned to go to the Philippines and marry her.
But Lola Aida was asked to pay a processing fee of P200,000 to get the P2 million.
“Pina-compute ko sa anak ko. Sabi nga ng anak ko, ‘Two million ang halaga niyan, Mama.’ Nagtaka ako. Sabi ko ‘Bakit magpapadala ng ganiyan kalaki ‘yan?’ May balak daw siyang pumunta ng Pilipinas para ako raw ay pakasalan,” said lola Aida.
However, there was a case with the NBI where up to P10 million was stolen from one victim.
“‘Yung victim na ‘yun parang retiree. ‘Yung pension fund niya or nakuha niya sa retirement niya ang nakuha,” said Lorenzo.
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