A pharmacy owner in Sta. Teresita, Batangas, has exposed a cunning scheme used by scammers to steal money through GCash transactions. Maricar Mondano-Bacsa, owner of Suresave Pharmacy, shared her experience on social media after losing ₱40,000 to two customers employing a well-coordinated scam.
“This just happened to us earlier sa pharmacy namin,” Mondano-Bacsa wrote in her post, recounting how the scammers orchestrated the theft.
According to her, the incident began with the suspects requesting multiple cash-ins. During the transactions, the scammers managed to obtain the pharmacy’s GCash number, which was displayed as part of their cash-out service. Using this number, the scammers linked the account to a Lazada account and waited for an OTP (One-Time Password) notification.
Mondano-Bacsa explained that while showing proof of the transaction to the customers, the scammers stalled, claiming the phone screen was unclear and requesting to take a photo or video of the phone screen. Unbeknownst to the staff, the scammers were timing their actions to capture the OTP from a banner notification.
The suspects succeeded on their fourth attempt, linking the GCash account and transferring ₱40,000. Their coordinated effort was revealed through dashcam footage showing the two individuals signaling to each other outside the store.
The owner has since reported the incident to the authorities and GCash but expressed skepticism about recovering the lost funds.
To prevent similar scams, Mondano-Bacsa advised other businesses to disable notification banners for sensitive apps and to personally handle customers’ phones during cash-ins. “We will never gonna let our customers take the photo. Instead, we will borrow their phone and take the photo for them,” she said.
She also reminded others to stay vigilant, expressing hope that justice will eventually catch up with scammers. “To these kind of people, I know babalik din sa inyo ang mga masasamang ginagawa niyo one way or another,” she concluded.
