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Travel Information / Being Cheated

Better exchange rates than those at money changers are not available in the Philippines at this time. There is no way that a person approaching a foreigner on the streets of Ermita and around Sta Cruz Church, both in Manila, can offer a higher rate than real money changers with shops and counters. Street changers definitely cheat, and their offer of exchange only serves the purpose of luring a foreigner into a trap. Therefore, they easily promise rates higher than what is available elsewhere.

The description of their tricks are just for general interest, because one cannot get the best of street changers anyway.

For example, a street changer will count the money before one's eyes; because he is a good magician, the bundle will appear to be as much as it should be. But in reality, it is only half. The street changer will make his victim nervous, and will create an atmosphere of hurry so the victim will disregard counting the money himself at the site. When the victim counts the money elsewhere, only then will he notice that he was shortchanged by as much as one half. The street changer of course is gone by then.

If the victim starts counting the money at the site, the street changer will pretend the police are coming, and that they are in danger of being arrested. The street changers definitely know how to make their victim nervous. After all, such abilities are part of their business.

Another trick is to first give the victim his pesos worth in exchange for the dollars. Then suddenly an accomplice enters or approaches and tells the street changer that the exchange is closed, or that the quota of dollars to be changed has been reached, or that there will be a spot check by the police who went inside just next door etc. Immediately the money changer returns to the victim the dollar notes and asks for the pesos back, which the foreigner normally returns without suspicion. But the dollars returned to the foreigner are fakes. A variation is to pay the foreigner much less in pesos than first agreed. Then, the foreigner himself will demand to undo the exchange and ask for return of his dollar bills. But just the same, what he gets back are fakes.

Not only local criminals cheat foreigners, but foreigners stranded here do it as well. A trick sometimes applied by these foreign crooks is to find out the account number of a victim, together with some personal data, and then make a story in a telex or telegram sent to the victim's bank, saying for example that the victim has been hospitalized and needs money urgently. This money should be sent to a person with a certain name in which the defrauder generally has a fake or a stolen passport.

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