By Jennifer P. Rendon
Imagine buying a 2014 Toyota Fortuner sports utility vehicle (SUV) for only PHP125,000.
A used car buyer thought he had found a great deal—until he realized he had fallen victim to a “rent-tangay” scam.
Alias Rod, 40, a seafarer from Pavia, Iloilo, discovered that the vehicle he purchased had only been rented out by the suspects: EJ, 25, of San Miguel, Iloilo, who temporarily resides in Barangay West Habog-Habog, Molo, and his girlfriend, alias Christine, 25, of Mandurriao, Iloilo City.
The car’s original owner, Tanni, 60, said he had leased his Toyota Fortuner to a rental shop but was shocked to find it being sold online.
Following a complaint from Rod and Tanni, members of the Iloilo City Police Station 4 (ICPS 4) conducted an entrapment operation at a mall in Molo district at around 8 p.m. on Feb. 13.
Capt. Ryan Christ Inot, ICPS 4 chief, said police caught the couple after they accepted PHP10,000 from Rod.
The suspects had demanded an additional PHP10,000 for the processing of the deed of sale.
According to Inot, the couple’s modus operandi involves renting vehicles from car traders or rental shops and later selling them online or to other car rental companies in different areas.
“They usually tell buyers they are in a hurry to sell because they are moving to the United States or abroad,” Inot said.
In Rod’s case, he immediately took the opportunity to buy the SUV but later discovered at the Land Transportation Office (LTO) that the documents were falsified.
As of Friday noon, Inot said eight other victims had filed complaints against the same suspects, but he believes there could be more.
He also suspects that EJ and Christine have other accomplices.
“They have been doing this for a long time. They know all the loopholes,” he added.
Meanwhile, charges against the suspects are still being prepared.
