Got Ripped For $10K Usd But Its My Fault For Being Stupid

[Candyman]

So...... there I was face to face with Mr. Fagen! Decision time... I am a (damn) foreigner in a country where cash is the controling factor in criminal justice... so I just laughed at him and said....Yes, imagine that.He then started walking off as he knew that I knew he was Fagen when he admitted by commenting to me about the actions of the girl.End of story. I have been back there 2 or 3 times since but never saw him again.

Pardon my ignorance,............................but who is "Fagen"????

[MikeB]

So...... there I was face to face with Mr. Fagen! Decision time... I am a (damn) foreigner in a country where cash is the controling factor in criminal justice... so I just laughed at him and said....Yes, imagine that.He then started walking off as he knew that I knew he was Fagen when he admitted by commenting to me about the actions of the girl.End of story. I have been back there 2 or 3 times since but never saw him again.

Pardon my ignorance,............................but who is "Fagen"????

From the Dicken's novel, Oliver Twist, a subverter of young children into criminals.

[sjp52]

It is not smart to carry large sums of money on you here in the Philippines. If I ever have to pay some one a large amount of cash, I have them meet me at the bank and pay them inside the bank, That way if they get robbed while leaving the bank my dept is paid. If for some reason I am forced to carry lots of money on me, When ever people come near me I put my hand on the cash and hold it in my pocket until they are no longer near me. I also do this with my wallet when in big crowds.This can happen in any big city in the world and even some small ones. I have heard of gangs casing banks for people making big withdrawals and then following them until the right moment to make their move

[Jollygoodfellow]

Split topic and moved a few posts to, http://philippines-expats.com/index.php?/topic/11024-advice-on-building-payments/page__pid__53969#entry53969

[Stroker Hawaii]

I'm sorry you got robbed. I'm kinda paranoid about getting my pocket picked. So what I did is I ordered me a magnetic stripe reader/writer. If my credit card or US bank card gets stolen, it could take weeks or a month to get a replacement card sent here to the Philippines. I found that out when my bank accidentally marked one of my cards as stolen and they wanted to send the replacement via regular mail. That can take a month or two if it ever shows up. I had to beg them to send the card Fed Ex and even then it still took a week to get it, because of their processing time. Now, I have cloned all my bank cards. I only carry blank white cards on me. Nobody knows what it is. It looks like a hotel room key. If it gets stolen, there is no credit card number on there for them to order things online, or whatever people do with credit card numbers. I keep my real credit cards locked in my safe. I use the plain white cards to take money out of the ATM. If someone steals it, no big deal, I just print another one. I don't even have to bother with cancelling the card because the thief has no clue what it is. Unless they also have a card reader and they ain't that cheap. Mine cost me a couple hundred bucks and I had to pay shipping. If anyone wants to clone thier cards, just message me and I'll do it for you. For a small fee cause the blank cards aren't free and the equipment cost me money. You can watch me do it, I will not store your information and it will be erased when I copy your card. There's people on here that can vouch for me. Not to mention if you start getting wierd charges on your credit card I'm real easy to track down cause you got to come to my house to do it. Anyway, I feel a lot safer now that I did it for my cards. And if one ever gets demagnitized it's no problem. Only thing is you can only use it in a bank machine or a transaction where you don't have to hand the card to a real person.

[Curley]

Very interesting, thanks for the info.

[newboy]

I like the idea of cloning ones cards. For me I use internet banking and have 3 accounts in one bank. When I need to take one of my cards out with me, I transfer just enough into that cards account for me to be able to do what's needed.When I was Christmas shopping in Rustans, late in the day when I had a quite a handful of bags with me, some guy came upto me in the department store and wanted to carry my bags. I basically made as much noise and fuss as possible by raising my voice, and the guy quickly scampered away. I count myself lucky there as I was on my own, if it had been a gang I could well of come off a lot worse.

[Tatoosh]

Very sorry to hear how you got taken. It is very easy to be targeted here and only so much you can do to protect yourself. People say don't carry money, but sometimes that simply is almost impossible to avoid. One thing to consider for anyone that has to transport funds is a PacSafe bag. They are tough, knife proof (can't be slit open) and a good choice for important papers or funds. Better travel goods stores sell various models all over the Philippines: Cebu, Manila, even here in Baguio City. I own one and I bought one brother-in-law one to keep his laptop in while going to college and living in a squatters apartment in Cebu. It never has failed him or me. Not that I wouldn't hand it over if confronted with a weapon, but if hit and grab is their tactic, this is a good option.PacSafe

[dean01]

Wow I am suprised you would walk around with $10k that is a wad of cash it would have made a huge bulge in your pants. Where did you store the rest of the cash? and how did you go telling customs you had so much cash comming into the country ?

[brock]

Wow I am suprised you would walk around with $10k that is a wad of cash it would have made a huge bulge in your pants.Where did you store the rest of the cash? and how did you go telling customs you had so much cash comming into the country ?

You are allowed to bring $10k into the country without declaring it to the customs.