DFA exec bares four types of passport appointment scams


By ERWIN COLCOL, GMA News
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Tuesday warned the public against fraudulent Facebook pages that trick patrons into making passport appointments.
At the meeting of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Foreign Undersecretary Joel Montales gave an update on the DFA's measures on addressing issues on the passport appointment system.
He also shared the initial findings of the investigation of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Anti-Cybercrime Group on fraudulent Facebook pages covering appointments.
According to Montales, there are four type of scam Facebook pages.
"The first type is a pure scam. They fill up an application form for the applicant, put a false bar code... to give an impression that the applicant has duly submitted the application," he said.
The second type, he added, is another scam that misleads a patron to use the courtesy lane to make him think he or she needs an appointment.
"For example, senior citizen is approached by a swindler. Applicant is referred to a courtesy lane and is accommodated. We added a pop-up in our appointment site. If an applicant would visit our site, they will see if they are entitled to courtesy lane or not," Montales said.
Another fraudulent Facebook page is the type that is able to get patrons an appointment but not through the online appointment system, but using a courtesy lane and using authentic or falsified endorsement.
"As a courtesy and by way of accommodation, DFA has been approving endorsements coming from different government agencies," Montales said.
"We've seen falsified endorsements and we've received information that applicants get authentic endorsements for a fee. So in other words, some people are selling endorsements for government agencies. That's the sad reality," he added.
The last type of scam Facebook page, Montales said, is one  where the applicant is able to get appointment through the online appointment system but the slot is not reserved for the patron.
"All these Facebook pages employ a similar marketing scheme. They make it appear that they can get appointments at will or that they have reserved slots which they can sell to the public," he said.
Montales assured the public that the DFA has been employing measures to prevent fraudulent schemes. These include measures to review or change policies and practices.
He also hopes that the NBI and the CIDG will be able to finish their investiagation as soon as possible.
"In the meantime, we ask the public's patience and cooperation. Please do not patronize these Facebook pages claiming to have slots and selling them. Many of them are scams and others are open invitations to corrupt government employees and cast doubt on our online appointment system," Montales said. —KBK, GMA News

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