EXCLUSIVE: Scammer targeting hostels is using policewoman’s stolen ID

Fake payment screenshots used to pressure hotels into refunds.

A scammer targeting hostels with bogus bookings is using the stolen ID of a policewoman who also owns a hospitality business.

Several hotel owners have warned the public about social media accounts using the same ID to make bogus bookings and pressure hotels into giving refunds.

The owner of Casa Pichay, a heritage hotel in Ilocos Sur, raised the alarm over a Facebook account named Maah Owhn that used the ID.

In a series of screenshots uploaded to Threads on October 9, Maah Owhn attempted to book accommodations for six guests amounting to ₱40,000. The hotel owner asked for a valid ID and a 50% downpayment.

Maah Owhn used a driver’s license bearing the name Melinda Ordoñez Merindo, with an address listed in Nueva Ecija. The user also provided a UnionBank transfer screenshot for ₱43,490, which the hotel owner flagged as fake due to grammatical errors, including the phrase “despite of delays.”

The scammer then asked for a refund of the supposed excess payment of ₱3,490, claiming the amount was meant to go to a business partner. The user pressured Casa Pichay into issuing an immediate refund, claiming they were about to board a flight. To support the claim, the scammer sent a supposed video of the boarding gate. The hotel owner promptly blocked the account after recognizing the scam tactics.

Another hotel owner in Siargao also reported a similar scam attempt, this time through Viber. The user, identified as Home with Beauty, employed identical tactics, sending the same stolen ID, a fake UnionBank screenshot with a different amount, and a boarding gate video to demand an urgent refund.

Merindo, the legitimate owner of the ID, told radar Business that at least four others have used her identity to make fake hotel bookings. She also said at least 20 people had been scammed by bogus establishments that used her ID to falsely identify her as the business owner.

Merindo is a policewoman and the owner of a vacation rental in Nueva Ecija. She believes the image of her ID may have been used by a former customer to scam others. The image has since spread online.

“Before po mag-payment, nagbibigay po ako ng ID ko kasi po malaki ang payment po. Usual naman na po na ibinibigay mga ID namin sa mga nag-book,” she told radar Business.

Merindo has already filed a police blotter with the Tarlac City Police Station in August, documenting her lack of involvement in potential scams involving the use of her ID for bogus transactions.

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