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YOU'RE tired and sleepy after your shift and all you want to do next is - as the thousands of people who rely on public transport do - to hop into that air-conditioned bus that will take you home. But whatever you do, don't be too sleepy or too distracted while paying the bus conductor. You might get scammed without even knowing it. Or you might start doubting yourself and start believing what these bus crooks are telling you. You see, even some bus passengers who are wide awake and alert during the entire bus ride have been victimized by this particular scam.
EYEWITNESS
This is the "Your P100-bill/P50 Does Not Exist" scam. There are actually a number of emails circulating in the Internet about this scam. These are from people who had the same unfortunate experience while riding a bus.
One scam victim said that although he was upset when it happened to him, he did not give the incident much thought afterwards. That is, up until the day he saw the exact same thing happen to a fellow passenger.
His first brush with this scam happened three months ago when he boarded an air-conditioned bus in Cubao. He just bought a bus ticket to Baguio and was on his way back to his office in Ortigas. The bus fare from Cubao to Ortigas is P10. The passenger gave the bus conductor a P100 bill. The conductor then gave him the corresponding bus ticket and quickly told him that he'll get the change for his P100 a little later because he doesn't have loose change yet. So the passenger sat back and relaxed. As the bus approached P. Tuazon, near Araneta Center, the passenger reminded the bus conductor about the change for his P100. The conductor asked him where he's supposed to get off and the passenger said Ortigas. The bus conductor casually told him to wait; anyway, it's still a few bus stops away.
As Ortigas Avenue drew near and the passenger asked about his change, however, things started to change dramatically. The conductor seemed to have come down with a case of sudden deafness because he didn't seem to hear a word of what the passenger said. So, as the bus is about to cross Ortigas, the passenger approached the conductor who was, by this time, sitting beside the bus driver. The passenger asked for the change to his P100 and the conductor responded by asking him for his bus ticket. After seeing the passenger's bus ticket, the bus conductor angrily said, "Eh wala naman akong sinulat sa likod ng tiket mo (indicating that there is pending change for the passenger bearing the ticket) tapos hihingi ka ng sukli! Tarantado ka pala eh."(Now you're asking for change! Fool!)
The passenger snapped and he cussed back, adding that he had been asking for the change to his P100 for almost the entire bus ride. As the passenger argued with the conductor, a man sat near the passenger and told him, "Pre wa/a ka namang inaabot na 'sandaang piso e, tapos hihingi ka ng sukli. " ("Bro, I did not see you give P100 to him. Now you're asking for change!) The passenger got up and told the driver what the bus conductor did. The bus driver replied, "Hindi ko alam 'yan. Baka naman wala ka talagang binibigay na P100 dun sa konduktorko."(Please..l don't know anything about that.) The passenger soon found himself arguing with three rather angry persons inside the bus: the conductor, the driver, and the male passenger. He realized that if things escalated into a fistfight, he is definitely outnumbered. So he turned to the bus driver and told the driver to open the bus door, they can keep the P90, he's getting off. By that time, the bus was in front of the POEA, but the driver did not open the door. Instead, he continued to drive and only let the passenger off in front of Dolmar Building, near the Ortigas MRT Station, where, conveniently, there did not seem to be any traffic police or traffic aide that would have been able to help the passenger.
TAKE TWO
About a month later, that passenger saw what happened to him happen to a fellow passenger. It was around 6p.m. and he was on a bus going from Ortigas to Makati. Suddenly, a female passenger seemed very agitated. She was arguing with the conductor and the bus driver about the change for her P50. For the passenger who was victimized a month earlier, that familiar scene became even more familiar when a male passenger approached the female passenger and told her, "Miss, bente pesos /ang ang binigay mo sa kundoktor, kitang kita ko." (Miss, you only gave P20. I saw it with my own two eyes...) The female passenger was livid. She wanted to get off at Boni Avenue but instead of opening the bus door, the driver speeded up until they reached a point halfway between the Boni and Guadalupe bus stops. The poor woman had no choice but to walk back to Boni and she had no one to immediately report the incident to.
The passenger who was victimized a month earlier looked at the driver and the conductor before he got off at Guadalupe. He saw the two laughing with the male passenger who claimed to be an eyewitness; the three were in it together. On the jeepney ride to Delpan, he realized he wasn't the only one who saw what really happened. A man suddenly told him, "Pare, akala ko kanina tutulungan mo yung babae, yung hindi sinuklian. " (Bro, I thought you were going to help the woman, the one who did not get her change.") Apparently, this man noticed several others who are most probably also in on the scam. While the female passenger was arguing with the three, one passenger seemed to have noticed the male passenger's (the one who was scammed the month before) intense interest in the ongoing word war and quickly transferred to a seat behind him. "Kaya /umipat din ako,"the man continued. "Kasi two years ago, nakaexperience ako ng ganyan sa may Balintawak. Sinaksak `yung isang pasahero. Kawawa naman. Ganyan ang modus operandi nila sa bus." (That's the reason I transferred seat. Two years ago, I experienced the same thing. The complaining passenger was stabbed. That's their modus operandi inside the bus.") There are several more passengers out there who experienced similar incidents. Some paid P50 bills, others paid P100. Some even started to doubt themselves after hearing the claims of the supposed "eyewitnesses." But all of them ended up walking the long distance in between bus stops with their money gone.
STOP THAT SCAM!
THE above scenario should not happen to you or to anyone; more so if the P100 or P50 bill happened to be the last money in your pocket.
Here are some tips:
1. On the bus, always be on your guard. Be wary of possible "holduppers," "snatchers,- and other thieves.
2. Always try to pay the exact amount. If that's not possible, then at least the amount closest to the fare. For example, a P20 bill for a P10 fare.
3. Never ever show a wad of bills in public places. Always have some coins prepared for payments. Even better: have the money ready for purchases, payments, even tips; divide everything beforehand.
4. Be extra careful when getting off the bus
5. Memorize the plate number, bus name, and other details. Write down the information as soon as possible. Make sure you include the date, the time, and the route (Cubao to Ortigas, for example.) If possible, check if any of the crooks are wearing IDs and the like.
6. Get a good description of the suspect(s.) Write down the information as soon as possible.
7. Do not wait and do not hesitate. Notify the police as soon as possible. Give them the pertinent information you have written down.
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