POLICE arrested a woman and her male accomplice along Seaside Boulevard in Barangay 76 on Sunday morning after they allegedly scammed a foreign national out of ₱130,000 through a fake romance scheme.
Operatives from the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), working alongside the Pasay City Police Station, carried out a staged entrapment operation around 10:20 a.m. to catch the suspects in the act.
According to police records from Pasay City Police Sub-Station 10, the complainant—a 30-year-old Chinese national working at a currency exchange—approached authorities after suspecting he was being defrauded.
Investigators revealed that the 23-year-old female suspect had progressively extracted ₱130,000 from the victim, claiming the money was required under traditional courtship customs to obtain her parents’ blessing.
The scheme escalated when she demanded the victim show ₱200,000 in cash to her family to demonstrate his financial stability.
After receiving a final demand for an additional ₱10,000 early Sunday morning, the victim realized he was being swindled and contacted law enforcement.
Officers prepared marked money for the sting. When the woman accepted the ₱10,000 cash payment, officers moved in and placed her under arrest, confiscating her mobile phone.
Her companion, a 29-year-old man, was also arrested after he allegedly tried to alert her and assist her in fleeing the scene.
The female suspect faces charges of Estafa under Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code, while her companion faces charges for Obstruction of Justice under Presidential Decree No. 1829.
“Deception dressed as affection is still a crime, and the NCRPO will not let it slip past unpunished,” said PBGEN Christopher N. Abrahano, Officer-in-Charge of the NCRPO.
“We move as fast against schemes of the heart as we do against schemes of the street,” Abrahano added.
Authorities advised the public to remain cautious of unusual financial requests tied to relationship milestones or family obligations and to report suspicious activity to local police stations.
