Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 13) — Authorities arrested on Oct. 10 two suspects who swindled nearly ₱2 million from a 72-year-old widow in a love scam.
In a statement released on Friday, the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group said the victim met online a man who introduced himself as American Evan Maxwell in March.
The police said the victim was manipulated by her online partner to send him ₱1.9 million supposedly for travel documents.
“She sent a manager’s check worth ₱700,000 to an individual named ‘ Louie John Petere’ and an estimated ₱1.2 million through a money remittance service to ‘Laiden Petere,’ following the instructions of her online companion,” the PNP-ACG said.
“To further obscure their malicious activities, the scammer convinced the victim to delete all transaction records stored on her device,” it added.
The victim later realized that she was being scammed when the suspect asked for an additional $20,000 (₱1.1 million).
This prompted her to seek help from Regional Anti-Cybercrime Unit 4-A.
The suspects are now in the custody of the Las Piñas City Police Station and are facing charges for violation of Cybercrime Prevention Act.
