WARNING: Think twice before helping lolas at ATMs this Christmas

Viral post warns of a possible modus involving two strangers asking for help with their bank accounts

Would you still help an elderly stranger at an ATM if something about the encounter just didn’t feel right?

A viral Threads post has sparked warnings about helping strangers use an ATM after a user said she encountered two elderly women who asked for assistance while withdrawing money.

In her Oct. 3 post, the user said she had just finished making a withdrawal when two elderly women waiting near the ATM asked her to help them withdraw money.

The user said she agreed to teach them—but made sure they were the ones pressing the buttons because she did not want to touch their cards or enter their PINs.

But she noticed something that made her uneasy: “alam na alam ni lola pano gumamit ng ATM. Hindi ko na nga masyado tinuruan.”

While checking the balances of two cards, one of the women reportedly kept talking about having spent months in the hospital and not being able to check her account.

The two accounts reportedly had only ₱150 and ₱29 left. After seeing their balances, the women allegedly turned to the user and asked why their accounts had so little money.

“Sabay sila tumingin saken ‘hala bakit walang laman??’ Deep inside I’m like ‘aba malay ko??'” the user said. “Ang dami pa nila sinabi, parang nagpapa-awa?”

The user ended up smiling at them and walking away. She ended her post with a question: “Bagong modus ba ‘to?”

Some commenters warned that the encounter could potentially be a setup.

“Mukhang modus. If tinuruan mo sila at ikaw humawak ng ATM at nagpi-pindot tapos ganun lang ang laman, pwede ka nila pagbintangan na may ginawa ka,” one commenter wrote.

Another advised people to seek help from security guards instead.

“Sabihin mo sa guard na lang mag-ask. Hirap na tumulong ngayon, daming modus lalo na at magpapasko,” the commenter said.

Others pointed out that some ATMs already carry notices telling users not to assist strangers or allow strangers to assist them.

One commenter also recalled seeing a similar story from years ago, in which someone who helped a stranger use an ATM was allegedly accused of taking money from the account. The commenter claimed that other men later arrived and pressured the person to return the supposedly missing funds.

The post doesn’t establish that the two women were attempting to scam the user, and the commenters’ accounts likewise don’t prove that the encounter was part of a coordinated modus.

Still, the anecdote raises a familiar question: How do you help someone who appears to need assistance without putting yourself at risk? For some commenters, the answer was simple: let the ATM’s security guard or bank personnel handle it.

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