Even though I'm a fan of the Philippines and its people, that appreciation couldn't blind this courthouse reporter's judgment in recognizing a scam.

Below is a short series of emails I exchanged with someone from the Philippines who somehow got an email of an acquaintance and posed as that acquaintance, of course not realizing that I'm not a friend with that person, just a mere contact through work. Notice the typos and poor grammar. Obviously a scam:

"Hello,

I am sorry for reaching you rather too late due to the situation of things right now.My family and I had a trip visiting Manila Philippines,everything was going on fine until last night when we got attacked by some unknown gunmen. All our money,phones and credit cards was stolen away including some valuable items, It was a terrible experience but the good thing is that they didn't hurt anyone or made away with our passports. 

        We have reported the incident to the local authorities and the consulate but their response was too casual, we were ask to come back in 2 weeks time for investigations to be made proper,But the truth is we can't wait till then as we have just got our return flight booked and is leaving in few hours from now but presently having problems sorting out our  bills here and also getting a cab down to the airport, Right now we're financially strapped due to the unexpected robbery attack, Wondering if you can help us with a quick loan to sort out our bills and get back home. All we need is (3,000 $)  I promise to refund you in full as soon as I return home hopefully tomorrow or next. write back now to let me know what you can do.


Thank You.


John"

I responded with two emails:

"I know I’m late responding. I hope everything is OK now.

Where should I send the money?"

 The scammers response:

"Glad to hear from you, We have nothing left on us right now and we are lucky to have our Life and passport with us it would have been worst if they had made away with my passports.

Well,All we need is $3.000  Dollars. to sort out the hotel bills,you can have it wire to my name via any Western Union outlet I'll show my passport as ID to pick it up here,I promise to refund it back as soon as we arrive back home. Here's the info you need:

Name:- John (last name withheld)

Address: 28 Simon Street Manila
Country: Philippine
Amount :$3.000  Dollars.

As soon as it has been done, kindly get back to me with the MTCN confirmation number.Let me know if you are heading to a western union outlet now..

I owe you a Lot.

John"

My response:

"Please send me $300 as a show of good faith and I’ll return $3,300 to you."

It's no surprise that I haven't heard back from my "friend" on the other side of the world.