Bigas Gang Car Scam in Metro Manila: Vehicle Accident Modus Operandi
When In Manila, do be careful with the scammers. We love the Philippines and believe it’s one of the best places to be, but modus operandi like this give the Philippines a bad reputation and a bad experience to the scammed person.
Today, I’ve personally experienced a scam in the making, but I wasn’t fooled thanks to my driver and I’d like to warn as many people about it. It happened on my way to airport when a guy pretended that he was hit by my car.
We were on our way to the airport to, while on NAIA road, we suddenly appeared to have hit a guy in the street. This guy had a patch on one eye (to appear blind maybe), was carrying a backpack and was carrying a plastic bag of food. We were driving pretty slow (20 or less km/h) and as the light turned yellow and we were close to a stop, we suddenly heard a loud bang. Following the bang, we saw water and rice flying everywhere on the streets. We were really shocked and horrified as to what we could’ve hit.
But my driver was aware of this type of car scam so he told us to not open anything. He explained to us that as your car comes to a stop, these thieves would approach your car from the blind side, and slap or kick it real hard to produce a loud sound, similar to what the “fake” wrestlers would do on WWE, and then they would throw the rice and water around to add dramatic effects. And I must admit, it really seemed like a Hollywood production and as if we had really hit him. They do this as a scam so they could then ask you for big money, supposedly for hospital bills as you feel sorry for them because you think that you hit them.
Thankfully, my driver was smarter than them. My driver opened his window very slightly and told the man to get away and to stop the scam. My driver told him that he’ll call the police if he didn’t stop. Something scary happened after that as the thief went on and got a stone from the sidewalk, seemingly from his own belongings and stash, then threatened to smash our car’s windows. We just ignored him. Good thing that after a while, the scammer really didn’t do anything and he just quietly picked up the rice on the street, while still trying to look like a victim and pretending to limp.
Watch the video below:
Now, here’s where it got even weirder:
On the way back home later in the day (passing by the same street but on the other side), we saw the same guy again pretending to be hit by another car and pretending to fall on the street. Same car scam street thing, rice and water flying everywhere even though the car was going straight and wasn’t going very fast. The eye-patched scammer, after pretending to be hit, got up from the ground and started running towards the car, but as he got closer, started limping and pretended to be hurt bad. The driver got out in the car and simply paid the scammer, as we watched from afar.
I wanted to write this “Bigas Gang“ car scam post to warn people of this type of scam being done on our streets. I understand that it’s traumatic for a driver to hit someone in the street and our first instinct is to get down and help the person we hit. So just be aware in case you see the full Hollywood theatrics of rice and water. Maybe some other “street performers” even have lights, sound effects and other props. So best to stay in the car and call or wait for help to be safe. Hitting someone could be real, but it’s best to be aware that there are a lot of fakers and scammers out there who would do it for the sake of money.
Please do share this car scam with people you care about to make sure they are informed. Fortunately, this guy was just asking for some money… what if these guys want to actually kidnap someone or steal your car?
When In Manila, be informed! Be smarter than the scams and scammers out on the streets! Know about these car scams!
Bigas Gang Car Scam in Metro Manila: Vehicle Accident Modus Operandi
Philippine Car Scams in Metro Manila: Guy getting hit by your car SCAM
