Impostor scams, although they could happen to just about anyone, are likely to occur among celebrities given their wealth and A-sized bank accounts. One famous personality who almost fell for the fraudulent act is Kapuso artist Rocco Nacino, who narrated how he was tricked by a poser of fellow actor Gabby Eigenmann.
In a now-deleted post on Instagram, Rocco showed receipts of his Telegram conversation with the alleged scammer on February 24. “Namuntikan pa ako dahil bagong gising ako. Buti na lang at naisipan ko muna silipin ang contact number para i-verify at tawagan si @gabbyeigenmann para manigurado,” he wrote.
He jokingly adds, “Kasi alam ko mayaman 'tong si brother Gabby at kung meron man uutang, ako dapat yun sa kanya. Hahaha.”
Based on the screenshots, it can be seen that the poser exchanged messages with Rocco and asked him for a "favor," borrowing 10,000 pesos which he promised he could immediately return in the evening. He even cited bank downtime as the reason why he was in dire need of cash.
Initially convinced that he was talking to Gabby, Rocco explained why he can't lend him money. "Mej negative ako ngayon walang taping eh haha," he replied. 
Instagram/gabbyeigenmann
Instagram/gabbyeigenmann
Instagram/gabbyeigenmann
Upon confirming that the person messaging him was in fact not Gabby, Rocco tried to further prolong the conversation until he was able to acquire the poser’s mobile wallet details.
Taking it to social media, Rocco expressed his sadness over the experience and warns his followers to be more vigilant of their online transactions. “It's sad to know that may mga gumagawa talaga ng ganito. Sana maging aral ito para satin lahat na mag-ingat palagi at magkaroon ng presence of mind lalo na kapag pera na ang usapan.
His message to the scammer? “Sana makonsensya ka sa ginagawa mo, at karma na ang bahala sayo. Kung kailangan mo ng pera, gumawa ka ng tamang paraan para makaipon. Hindi lahat naso-shortcut.”
Gabby also posted about the scam on his own page. “Please don’t entertain any message from this person pretending to be me. Kung sino ka man, tigilin mo na ang pangloloko sa mga tao, mas doble ang balik sa karma,” he warns.
This story originally appeared on Cosmo.ph.
* Minor edits have been made by the Female Network editors.
