Mauie Flores

It's final, we're spending Christmas' Noche Buena here at home and we're not going home to Bicol to spend New Year's Day either. My sister-in-law and her family aren't coming over for the holidays, too. No one's going to look after their home while they are away. Well, I kinda understand where she's coming from. Thefts and robbers frequent homes during this time of the year. Just the other day, a blogger-friend wrote about how they were almost victimized by the Dugo-dugo Gang. It was a blessing that her maid was smart and never believed anything the scammer told her. Other homeowners are not as lucky as she is.

The Dugo-dugo Gang usually victimizes househelpers who are left in the house while the homeowners are away from home. They place a call and convince the helper that her boss figured in an accident and that they need money for the hospital bills. They will then tell the helper to look for money or valuables and deliver it to the caller.

Millions of pesos have already been lost to this modus operandi. Don't be the next victim. Here are some things that you should do to protect yourself and your properties from the criminal minds of the Dugo-dugo Gang:

• Keep the househelpers informed. Teach the maids not to believe anonymous callers and inform them about the modus operandi. Tell them to verify the information first with another relative or housemate. If you have a health card, you can also inform your maid about this and tell her that, with it, you will not need cash to pay for hospital bills.
• Have a caller ID installed. This way, you have a record of the phone number used. You should also teach your helper to just take note of the number and call a relative or family friend to help verify if the call is legit or not.
• Secure your perimeter. Before they operate, one or two members of the gang will hang around in the vicinity to get more information about their next victim. Tell the helpers to have the gates and doorknobs locked at all times especially when she's all alone in the house.
• As much as possible, do not keep money and valuables at home. Keep your money in the bank and your valuable jewelry kept in a secure vault. If this isn't possible, just be sure to keep your valuables safe and keep it a secret from the kasambahay.
• Be a friendly neighbor. Build a good relationship with your neighbor. This way, they can look after your house when you're away and vice versa.

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