MANILA, Philippines ? Emma, not her real name, got a call one day from a man who introduced himself as a consul. He told her that her seaman husband had fought with the captain of the ship and had killed him by accident.

Her husband, the woman was told, was also seriously injured and was in a coma after he was stabbed in the chest with a steel pipe.

But the horrific story didn?t end there. Her husband had apparently become a wanted man with a ?shoot to kill? order for his crime. His mates smuggled him into Mactan, Cebu, and he urgently needed cash to undergo surgery, the wife was told.

Emma, a 32-year-old Pasig City Hall social worker, had her doubts. But the caller?s story, though absurdly elaborate, was consistent and, according to her, sounded quite believable.

?He knew every last detail about my husband and me. From my middle initial to my husband?s middle initial, our addresses, even my husband?s sibling, he knew everything,? she said.

Emma, following instructions from the ?consul? who called himself Rolando Yu, and another man named Rouel Vargas, an ?engineer,? sent P37,000 via the electronic wallet feature of her cell phone.

The address given was ?Seaman Center, 472 Ayala St., Cebu City,? care of ?Engr. Rouel M. Vargas.?

?They told me I had to change my SIM because my phone could be under surveillance,? she said in an interview at the Pasig Police Station, where she filed a complaint Tuesday with desk officer PO3 Roberto Dumayas.

Although her complaint was recorded in the blotter, a public document, she requested that the Inquirer withhold her real name to protect her privacy.

Based on her complaint, Yu then told her that they would meet in Subic, Pampanga, where her husband would be flown in via helicopter, the only ?safe and secure? way for him to travel, Emma said.

But at this point, the men began asking her for more money. This time, her husband needed P140,000, which she was told she needed to wire immediately.

That was when Emma began to doubt their story.

?I thought if we were going to meet tomorrow, why do I need to send them money today?? she said.

Emma called up some relatives from the province, one of whom told her, ?Oh, they called you, too??

?That?s when I knew it was all a scam,? she said.

She called her husband?s agency, Genetics Maritime Services Office, and was told that he was fine.

?I mostly communicate with him by e-mail, so I didn?t immediately think of how to contact him. I also misplaced his cellular phone number,? she said, adding that she had not yet talked to her husband since the incident.

Emma said she had spoken to family members of another seaman working for a different agency, who got the same call. Unlike Emma, however, the con artists did not pursue the scam upon learning that their prospective victim had a relative who was a policeman.