Student looking for accommodation in Baguio City falls victim to ‘boarding house scam’

Baguio City, Philippines – A student who was looking for a boarding house was scammed out of P15,000 after transacting with a fake boarding house owner in Baguio City.

Baguio City Police Office Station 7 said, through Bombo Radyo Baguio, that the victim saw a boarding house advert on Facebook owned by a certain ‘Jenny Villaroxas’ located in T. Alonzo street of Baguio.

The victim decided to transact with the owner because he badly needed a place to stay while studying.

According to the police, the scammer negotiated with the victim saying room rent is at P7,500 per month and that they have a ‘1-month advance, 1-month deposit policy.’ This forced the victim to pay the P15,000 as a down payment.

Later, the victim discovered he was scammed when he was not able to find the place and immediately reported it to the authorities.

The victim confirmed later that the scammer used many names, such as Jennifer Villarofas Perez, Jennifer Villaroxas Perez, Jennifer Perez Rivera, and Jenny Perez, who has records of victimizing people looking for lodging.

Meantime, the BCPO is currently investigating the incident for the arrest of the suspect.

As recalled, Baguio Local Government Unit earlier warned students and tourists to be more cautious with the persons they are transacting with before giving any payment.

This was after they received several reports of people being scammed by some who pretend to be owners of local accommodation establishments.

Baguio LGU advised students to deal with the owner personally to avoid such incidents.

Baguio LGU likewise urged students to first contact the Permits and Licensing Division at (074) 619-3184 to confirm the names of registered owner/s and their contact numbers before they pay or transact with boarding house owners.

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