What seemed like a good deal for a 2014 Toyota Fortuner turned out to be a big scam for a 40-year-old seafarer from Pavia, Iloilo. He lost P125,000 in a fake sale and later discovered that the sellers only rented the car and had no legal right to sell it.
Rod bought the SUV from EJ, 25, of San Miguel, Iloilo, and his girlfriend Christine, 25, of Mandurriao, Iloilo City, believing the transaction to be legitimate.
However, the car's true owner, Tanni, 60, leased it to a car rental shop, unaware that the scammers had registered it for sale online.
After Rod and Tanni filed a complaint, the police of Iloilo City Police Station 4 (ICPS 4) immediately conducted an entrapment operation.
Around 8 pm on February 13, police arrested the couple inside a mall in Molo district while they were accepting PHP10,000 from Rod. The suspects are still asking for an additional PHP10,000, which they claim is payment for the processing of the deed of sale.
According to the investigation, the lovers have been doing this modus operandi for a long time. They first rent the vehicle from car traders and rental shops before posting it online for sale.
To fool buyers, they often say they need to sell the car immediately because they are flying to another country.
Rod only discovered the fraud when he had the vehicle documents checked by the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and discovered they were fake.
Currently, at least eight other victims have come forward to authorities with similar complaints. The police suspect that the suspects have accomplices who are helping them to take advantage of the weaknesses in the system.
Authorities are currently finalizing the criminal charges to be filed against the suspects.
