SNATCHER IN TABUK CITY: Man pretending to Cash In for GCash snatched shop owner’s phone

Tabuk City, Kalinga – An unidentified man who was supposed to cash in on GCash snatched a shop owner’s cellphone on Sunday afternoon, January 18, in Purok 4, Bulanao.

The man was wearing a cap and a facemask when he arrived at the shop located along the Villoria Street at 3:48 p.m. Based on CCTV footage, the man was talking to someone over the phone before he asked the woman minding the shop to cash in.

“Ma’am, pwedeng magpa-QR?” the man asked, referring to transferring a GCash fund to him. He was also counting his paper bills on the counter.

The woman approached the supposed customer, but just when she was about to generate the QR code, the suspect was fast enough to snatch the woman’s phone and ran away with it.

The suspect was said to have an accomplice, waiting for him on a motorcycle.

It could be recalled that a day before the incident, a 20-year-old woman who was minding her aunt’s store in Nasgueban, Appas also lost her phone to a robber who came to the shop borrowing for a knife or a screw, claiming his motorcycle broke down. The robber later used the knife against the woman and took away her gadget.