Why do many continue becoming victims of scams?

Batas Mauricio .

THE man considered to be the greatest Filipino hero of all time, Dr. Jose Rizal, put it ever so clearly: there will be no tyrants if there would be no one willing to be enslaved, and there would be no one who can ever defraud another if there is no one who is willing to be defrauded. The end-all and be-all of this is clear: if Filipinos will only heed Rizal’s advice, no one among them could ever be duped of even a single centavo by anyone.

Yet, reports circulating today say unscrupulous persons or groups have run away with ease hundreds and hundreds of millions of pesos from their hapless countrymen (one shocking report says P50 billion was the amount which was supposed to have been pocketed by a group from Mindanao). This has prompted the inevitable question: how come Filipino scammers continue, with apparent ease, having a field day in fleecing their compatriots?

I see two reasons for this. First, there is an absolute lack of any opportunity for proper but  profitable investment for Filipinos which can give them big returns on shorter periods of time. Second, many of our countrymen unfortunately are no longer being taught even the rudiments of good manners and right conduct, and the fear and love of God, making them easy prey for fraudulent schemes.

Understanding how fraudulent schemes work hereabouts is quite easy and uncomplicated. The fact is that, fraudsters know that many Filipinos who have money stashed from work that required their blood, sweat, and tears, can easily be swayed by the proverbial glitter of gold.

Unscrupulous persons or scammers know that it is simply too easy to entice many of our  citizenry with promises of huge returns even for only a very short period of time. Scammers know that this is the reason why instead of depositing their money with the banks, many find it more appealing to invest in “get-rich-quick schemes”, in hopes of earning higher returns (especially so because banks give out ridiculously low interest payments for the money deposited with them).

Of course, it is always at the back of the minds of these so-called investors that there is a real possibility that they are merely being fooled which may even result in them losing their investments. But one thing can never be denied here: the dream of earning bigger incomes always win out in the end. Put differently, greed most often prevails in the hearts and mind of many.

Why does greed almost always take hold of many of our countrymen? There are many reasons that can be cited, but one thing stand out, I believe: Filipinos are no longer taught good manners and right conduct. Then, too, many are also no longer instructed on the fear and love of God. The end-result of all these is ignorance of what is good behavior and of what God wanted to teach us from His Word, the Bible.

If only Filipinos are trained on good and orderly conduct and behavior, and on the commandments of God, they will realize that one of the rules that would give them a successful and prosperous life had been taught by Jesus in the Book of Matthew in the Bible: we should love our fellowmen as we love ourselves—not mistreating them or taking advantage of them. At present, however,  because we have not imbibed this teaching, Filipinos have often foundn themselves to be selfish and lovers of money.

This is what malefactors take advantage of. How can we remedy this malady? We should all endeavor to know God’s commands. As our Life’s Inspiration today is saying, success and prosperity will come only when we do not forget to read the Book of the Law; when we meditate on it day and night; and when we carefully carry out everything that is written in it all the days of our lives. Thank God in the Name of Jesus, Amen!

E-mail: batasmauricio@yahoo.com, mmauriciojr111@gmail.com