MANILA, Philippines -- Four job applicants lost their cellular phones to a con artist who posed as an engineer in search of new employees for a lucrative project in Quezon City.

Each of the victims was allegedly sweet-talked into lending their cellular phones to their potential “boss” who told them his own phone’s battery was running low.

Marmel Huarde, 22, of Barangay (village) Bagumbayan; Philip Perena, 25, of Project 6; Jasper Allado, 27, of Cubao, all in Quezon City; and Jun Dela Cruz, 27, of Tumana, Marikina City, trooped Friday to the Quezon City Police District Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (QCPD-CIDU) in Camp Karingal to lodge a complaint against the con man.

They said the man, who introduced himself as an “engineer Tony Legarda” of the C8 Best Franchising Business Marketing with offices at Unit 409 Hansel Arcade, Building 1, Aurora Boulevard corner Imperial Street, in Cubao took their cell phones during a job interview.

In their complaint, they said they were called to the suspect’s office for an interview at around 1:30 p.m. of July 16

Huarde, who was first to be “interviewed,” said that in the middle of their talk, Legarda said his cell phone’s battery had run out and asked if he could borrow her Samsung phone.

She said he allowed the suspect to replace her SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card with his because he claimed he needed to make an important call.

However, without returning her cell phone, Legarda called in the next “applicant” for the interview and then used the same ruse to take his phone.

After the suspect had taken all their cell phones, he took them to a nearby fast food outlet and told them to wait for him. When he did not return, the job applicants went to the police to file a complaint.

QCPD-CIDU personnel are conducting follow-up operations against the suspect but cautioned job applicants to be wary of a modus operandi they described as "the oldest trick in the book."