PDIC warns vs bogus raffle draws

MANILA, Philippines - State-run Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) has cautioned the public against a scam designed to dupe people into parting with their hard-earned money in exchange for purported cash winnings from bogus raffle draws.

The deposit insurer said the scam is designed to lure the public into giving cash for the empty promise of a prize from a non-existent raffle.

In the modus operandi, PDIC said target victims receive calls about their so-called winnings involving cash prizes in raffle draws allegedly conducted by a certain media network.

The target victims are then instructed to contact a person to claim their prize.

When called, this person would require the target victims to pay a certain amount via a remittance agency for “purposes of PDIC insurance.”

PDIC issued an advisory stating it is not involved in any raffle draw or other contests with media networks and other organizations.

The advisory clarified only deposits placed in banks are covered by PDIC’s deposit insurance and claim for deposit insurance may be made only upon closure of the bank.

Last November, PDIC warned the public of another scam where certain individuals represented themselves either as officers of PDIC or related government agencies and claimed that, for a fee, they could assist depositors in expediting payment of deposit insurance claims and facilitating payment of claims even beyond the maximum deposit insurance coverage.

As state deposit insurer, PDIC insures deposits in banks up to the maximum deposit insurance coverage of P500,000 per depositor per bank.

Last month, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) ordered the closure of Countryside Rural Bank of Batangas based in Kanluran, Batangas City with four other branches in Balayan, Lemert, Padre Garcia and Tanauan.