Family Security

“The more things change, the more they stay the same” so said the cynic more than a century ago—and this still holds true until today especially if applied to crime commission and victimization.  The refrain is the same:  the unwitting and gullible get victimized by the opportunist in ways which police investigators often blurt out, “Hindi nyo pa ba alam yan?”  (Did not know that yet?).  Crime modus operandi  (MO) may have employed various instruments and ploys that coped with the times but at its core, most of these MOs are but a variation of old methods that had victimized countless others before.  So in this edition of Security for the Professional, let me refresh you on the most common criminal modus operandi and their current iterations.  These MOs for years had terrorized countless families and up to the present, despite the popularity of the internet, continue to do so.

• Dugo-Dugo

The MO “Dugo Dugo” takes its name from its centerpiece instrument:  the blood and its shock value.  This MO is usually carried out by a group of three to four persons with very specific roles and targets working-class families on whose house the house helper is often left alone, especially during office hours.  The first member gets information about the target family:  the names of the family members, work schedule, workplace and address, vehicles used, telephone number, and the like.  This is done in various ways:  the criminal may pretend to be from a government agency conducting a census, a student taking surveys, or befriending the house help.  After the information is taken, it is passed to the second member whose job is to conduct the sting.  This member calls the house for help and relays the information that the Boss met an accident and needs money for the hospital bill.  A variation of this is the Boss is in a police station after figuring in an accident and needs a big amount of money to settle the damages.  The house help is then instructed to get money and jewelry from the Bosses’ bedroom and destroy locks and cabinets as necessary and deliver these to a certain Doctor or Lawyer waiting in a certain place.  The pretender is the third member of the team.  After the money is delivered, that will be the last time that the victims will ever hear from the criminals.

How to avoid being victimized:

First and foremost, it is imperative that the house help is thoroughly briefed about this modus operandi.  Equally important is the laying of SPECIFIC STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS in response to such situations.  I emphasized this in uppercase letters because employers have to realize that the level of comprehension including the experience and ability to process information about house helps may not be enough to enable them to formulate the appropriate response.  We have to realize that this MO is a battle of wits between an innocent house helper and a group of seasoned criminals working in concert with one another in committing this fraud.  You get the drift.

• Tokhang Ransom

This MO is the latest iteration of the extortion scheme of terrorists and plain criminals specializing in guns for hire.  It took advantage of the nickname of the highly publicized anti-drugs operations of the Duterte government.  Basically, the starting point of this MO is the same as that of the Dugo Dugo MO described previously.  The criminals get as much information about the potential victim and initiate a call informing the latter that he or she is included in the “hitlist” to be “neutralized” (read:  killed by vigilantes) anytime.  To avoid this, the criminals ask for a fee to spare the life of the victim.  Money is often asked to be sent through one of the wire services.

How to avoid being victimized:

If the criminals attempt to victimize you with this modus operandi, don’t panic.  Remember that you are dealing with criminals and not government forces.  No self-respecting government will ever endorse murder.  The first thing to do if you receive such a call is to report the matter to your nearest police station which in turn will most probably refer you to a specialized unit such as the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG).  Cooperation with the police is the only solution to this problem.

• Modern Kidnap for Ransom

I had just read of this MO on the internet and had no actual knowledge if it had actually victimized anybody but the system is so good that it is not farfetched that it could dupe unsuspecting victims.  This MO is a combination of the Dugo Dugo and the Tokhag for Ransom.  The Kidnap for Ransom is just for the front and this MO had made rounds on the internet a few months back. 

The first step of the MO is the same as the others:  the background of the victim is obtained.  In this case, the emphasis is given to the parents of the victim and the MO targets young people.  The MO is initiated by a call to the young victim with the criminals disguising themselves as members of the TELCO and instructing the youngster to immediately turn off his or her cellphone for three to five hours for “emergency upgrades.”  For others, the instruction could be not to turn the cellphone back on and wait for TELCO to do so after the upgrades are installed.  During the interim when the youngster is out of reach because of the turned-off cellphone, the parents of the victim are contacted and asked for a ransom purporting that the youngster is with them.  The amounts asked are small and can be sent through money courier services.  Panicked parents may actually be victimized by this MO.

How to avoid being victimized:

If the criminals attempt to victimize you with this modus operandi, don’t panic.  The first thing to do if you receive such a call is to report the matter to your nearest police station which in turn will most probably refer you to a specialized unit such as the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG).  Cooperation with the police is the only solution to this problem.

Note: This article was previously published in our printed issue of The Corporate, Guide and Style for Professionals Magazine.

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About the Author: Police Brigadier General Nicolas Torre III is currently the Head of Quezon City Police District.