You can never be too careful with your belongings. One wrong move, or a second of carelessness, can lead to bad results. This is what happened to Japhet I., who lost over P75,000 when his wallet containing his IDs and ATM card were stolen in SM Megamall. He shared his story on Facebook. According to him:
Birthday ko nung March 10, 2015, Tuesday, nang nagdecide ako naicelebrate ito sa Megamall kasama ate at mama ko. Kumain kami sa Tim Ho Wan and after that, nagdecide kami tumingin ng damit sa Forever21 at after sa H&M.Around 6:35 nakalabas na kami sa Forever21 at ako nagdala ng bag ng mama ko kasi mabigat. Nang nasa H&M na kami napansin namin na nagsetup sila ng bagong sale items so medyo maraming tao at medyo masikip sa may sale area. Nang magbabayad na ako napansin ko na wala na yung wallet ko sa bag.
(It was my birthday on March 10, 2015, Tuesday, when I decided to celebrate it with my mother and sister in Megamall. We ate at Tim Ho Wan, and we decided to go to Forever 21 and H&M to check out some clothes. Around 6:45, we left Forever 21 and I carried my mother’s bag because it was heavy. When we were in H&M, we noticed that they were setting up some sale items so it was crowded. When we were about to pay, I noticed that my wallet was missing from my bag.)
Japhet went to the fitting room to check if someone saw it. He then asked for help from the H&M security team, and they advised he block his ATM card. His sister advised he go to the BPI brach of Megamall. Here’s what happened next:Â
Nung una tumanggi tumulong yung mga tao sa BPI. Sabi nung guard sarado na at tumawag na lang ako sa hotline, at dahil hindi ako makatawag dahil kulang ang load ng cellphone ko, yung ate ako tumawag sa hotline. Sabi nung nakausap niya, dapat tinulungan na ako nung mga tao sa BPI. So bumalik ako at nakiusap sa kanila, around 7:34, nablock na yung BPI ATM ko. The next day ko lang nalaman na may nakapagwithdraw ng P20,000 sa BPI Robinsons Tower, at ginamit siyang Express Payment at bumili ng iPhone 6 Plus sa Beyond the Box sa Robinsons Galleria. Within 1 hour, nakapagwithdraw and purchase sila ng almost P75,000.
(At first, the staff at BPI didn’t want to help us. The guard said the branch was closed and told us to call the hotline. I didn’t have enough cellphone credit, so it was my sister who called. According to her, the branch should have helped me. I went back and talked to them, and by 7:34, my ATM account was blocked. The next day, I found out that they withdrew P20,000 at BPI Robinsons Tower, and used Express Payment to buy an iPhone 6 Plus at Beyond the Box at Robinsons Galleria. Within one hour, they withdrew and purchased almost P75,000).
According to the Facebook post’s comments, the PIN was identified by the thieves using Japhet’s IDs. The PIN was his birthday. BPI has released the CCTV footage of their branch in Robinsons Tower, and showed three women using the ATM. One of the women blocked the CCTV from the ATM using her hands while her companion withdrew. Fortunately, the footage still captured one of their faces. The CCTV of the branch also showed them withdrawing from the ATM.
Watch the full video below:
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How do you think we can protect ourselves? Share your thoughts below!
