Zambo couple scammed by cooperative

The Facebook page of Helping Hand Credit and Savings Cooperative. (Mindanao Examiner) 

ZAMBOANGA CITY - A couple who runs a small printing job here has sought the help of the local police and this newspaper after they were duped into paying P1,000 as an advance interest to a P20,000 loan offered by a cooperative allegedly based in Cebu City. 

Mari Santos said she paid the money to Annalie Diaz, who allegedly works with the Helping Hand Credit and Savings Cooperative, through her GCash account number 0966-8533963. She said Diaz, upon receiving the money, immediately blocked her cell phone number.

Santos said she phoned Diaz many times and sent text messages but all were left answered. She also called up the telephone number, 032-540 3248, of the cooperative, but it was incorrect.

Even the address of the cooperative at 37 Leon Kilat Street was non-existent after Santos used Google Maps to check its location. The office address is in the middle of a junction road in Cebu City. The cooperative’s Facebook page was created in December 2021, but its metadata shows the location of its creator was in Mandaluyong City.

Santos said she discovered the cooperative on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100076512076466 - and was able to chat with a certain John John, who claimed to be working with the Helping Hand Credit and Savings Cooperative, and offered her a P20,000 loan payable in one year. 

The exchange of text messages between scammed victim Mari Santos and John John, who claims to be a cooperative employee. (Mindanao Examiner)

The man even communicated with Santos using his Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/anthony.martinezdubois, and instructed her to pay the P1,000 advance interest to Diaz or Reamy Mae Manio through her GCash number 0993-4283035.

“John John also blocked my number and cannot be reached. I was scammed and we just borrowed the money to pay for the advance interest this cooperative is asking from us so they can release our P20,000 loan,” said Santos, who sought the help of the Mindanao Examiner to warn the public about this modus operandi. 

The Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) in Cebu City said the Helping Hand Credit and Savings Cooperative is not a registered cooperative. “It does not exist in our database. The Helping Hand Credit and Savings Cooperative is registered with us,” the head of the CDA’s registry section told the Mindanao Examiner by phone.

Santos said she reported the matter to the police. (Mindanao Examiner)