We hear stories everyday of households who fall prey to felons, whether it's here in the Philippines or somewhere else. Even children and wives fall victims to these kinds of people. So it should be the habit of every employer to inform every household member to be wary of answering strangers.
Thank God, our household hasn't been victimized by any kind of burglary or theft. I would like to think that part of that success is due to the fact that we have always taught all of our household members - including my kid - to be careful of talking to strangers. We always tell them that nefarious people would usually hit when the master is out to work. How many groups are there? A LOT OF THEM, but let me just describe some of these more popular gangs.
1.) Salisi Gang - a member poses as your boss (or any family member) and calls you at the phone, telling you that you've been involved in an accident and need money to pay for the hospital or something else. He instructs you to bring a stash of money or anything valuable that you can bring to "monetize" it and tells you to meet at a place designated.
WHAT TO DO: We always tell our maids/yaya that if anything happens, we will call them using our own cell phones. We tell them to stay put inside the home. If anything happens, we will call a family member to call or fetch them.
2.) Budol-Budol Gang - a person pretends to have a wad of money and asks you to accompany him to some place or promises big bucks if you help him over some favor. He will exchange his bagful of money for whatever you can give in return. Sounds enticing, isn't it? Almost always, people fall for this trap notwithstanding news reports that expose their activities. Why? It's the money that's in the bag. If you can exchange your cell phone for a bag of money, you would probably fall for it.
WHAT TO DO: Never fall for it! We tell our maids never to be blinded by offers that are too good to be true. If the offer's too good, then it's probably false.
3.) Akyat Bahay Gang - this is probably the worst nightmare of any household. These groups usually strike when the master of the house is not home, or when the family goes on vacation. This gang carefully studies the house where it will strike. In some cases, they enter the house even when there are people inside. Some groups just take what they need; in most cases, they hurt or even rape family members.
WHAT TO DO: Prevention. Some ill doers fish out details of the family's activities. They ask casual questions like what time the master leaves the house, what it normally does for a living, where do they usually go on weekends, and the like. They study the occupants and the timing, then hit when the time is right. Although we do not prohibit household members to socialize, we tell them to act smart.
Finally, we explain to them the realities of these kinds of groups, not to scare them but to prepare them in the event that they face any of these groups. It's important that you keep your household members trained and alert than to keep them clueless on what to do if disaster strikes.
These are the very reasons why I cannot get a nanny. It is hard nowadays to trust people as looks are deceiving -- those innocent looking applicants are usually those who will eventually do the unthinkable and by then it is already too late. Anyway, nice tip. More power and continue writing.
ReplyDeleteHi CrisN: It's really scary, I tell you. My husband and I are really careful about it to the point of becoming paranoid. Even now, we still do a lot of spot checking at home to see if the household members are trustworthy enough or are gullible to smooth-talking by strangers. It's a tough balancing act. Thanks!
ReplyDelete