New carjacking scheme bared

MANILA, Philippines—Authorities warned the public on Friday of a new carjacking scheme using the Internet to prey on rent-a-car operators, a Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group official said.

The remark was made after two Hyundai Starex vans offered for hire on online advertisement site Sulit.com were carjacked last February 19 in Bataan and Pampanga, HPG director, Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina said.

He said illegal rent-a-car operators without license to operate their business are “most vulnerable to this modus operandi because of the convenience of selecting targets and the ease of creating an advantageous scenario to stage a carjacking.”

Espina explained that after the syndicate has selected a target, a member of the group will pose as “client” and make rental arrangements for the vehicle with the advertiser, usually through mobile phone.

The poseur client will then give instructions to be picked-up at a non-existent address. But even before the driver reaches the place of meet-up, the “client” will call the driver with new instructions to bring the vehicle to a nearby gasoline station where other members of the syndicate are already pre-positioned.

“Should the driver or owner of the car demand for a downpayment, the group will immediately settle the amount to complete the transaction,” he said.

Once on board, the suspects will give orders to the driver to proceed to a given destination, and along the way, the driver will be forced out of the vehicle while they escape with the vehicle.

Espina said the target of the carjackers are latest model utility vans that are in demand in the used car market.

He reminded freelance “rent-a-car” service providers of specific provisions in 4136, or the Land Transportation and Traffic Code of the Philippines, that prohibits illegal operation of public utility vehicles.