OFW from Japan falls prey to ‘budol-budol’ gang

Figuring that staying in Japan was a huge risk, an overseas Filipino worker decided it would be the best for her to come back to the Philippines for two months. Little did she know that shortly after she would arrive in her Cavite home, she would fall victim to the infamous “budol-budol" modus operandi. Sally (not her real name) said unknown visitors came to their house to inquire about their party-needs business and buy Japanese yen. “Nung napapaloob na po ‘yung loob ko sa kanya, ‘yung sarili ko wala na. Parang naging sunod-sunuran na ako sa kanya," she said. Eventually, Sally would lose over P150,000 equivalent in yen in exchange of fake American dollar bills. The “budol-budol" gang is notorious for swindling and estafa. Members sweet-talk people into exchanging money or leaving their things in exchange for cash. Only when the gang members leave do victims realize that the bundles of cash given to them are in fact, thick wads of paper sandwiched in between bills. According to the Philippine National Police-Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management, from January 2009 to July 2010, over 1,808 people fell victim to the modus operandi. From January to February 2011, the police said 137 victims have been recorded. — Bea Cupin/VS, GMA News