This Woman’s Phone Was Stolen. Fortunately, She Got It Back After Going To Church.

Hanchenn Superiano Gofulco, a woman from Sta. Rosa, Laguna in the Philippines recently had a “horrible experience” when her cellphone was stolen by snatchers. According to her post on Facebook, she and her boyfriend were going to the mall to buy clothes for an upcoming Christmas party. Apparently, he was bumped by strangers as he was carrying her bag.

He immediately started to feel suspicious when he discovered that the bag has been opened.

In her own words, this is how Hanchenn described what happened:

“Papunta po kami sa target mall pra maghanap ng damit na susuotin ko s christmas party. Then suddenly may bumangga sa boyfriend ko (sya po ang nagdadala ng bag ko) after 5 sec kinapa nya po yung bag ko kasi hinahanap nya yung cellphone ko. Tpos nung nakita nya yung bag kong bukas tinanong nya ako kng nasaan ang cellphone ko at sabi ko wala sa akin. Dun na ako kinabahan tumingin kami sa paligid pero hindi nya maidentify ang nagnakaw.”

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Photo credit: Facebook screencap


With that, the two decided to seek the help of the mall guards and, eventually, the police.

Hanchenn continued:

“Nagtanong kami sa guard pero wala daw clang magagawa. Dinala nila kmi sa security office ng mall tapos nagtanong ako kng may CCTV sa area na yun. Sabi daw meron pero kailangan pa daw ng request. Naghintay po kami ng pulis pra idakip yung 6 na suspect nila. Nang dumating ang pulis sinabihan lang kmi na tatawagn nalng daw pag nadakip na kaya umuwi nalng kmi.”

Later on, Hanchenn’s boyfriend asked that they visit the church instead.

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Photo credit: Facebook screencap

“My boyfriend suggested to go to the church para ipagpray nalng na sana maibalik kahit npaka imposible na. After naming magdasal sumakay na kami ng jeep. Habang ako tulala sa kakaisip ng cellphone ko nakita ko ung lalaki sa dulo sa likod ng driver na may hawak na cellphone na kasing kulay ng case ng cellphone ko kaya tinanong ko sya kung pwede ko makita ang cellphone. Ayaw nyang ipakita hanggang sa nagsabi ung kasama nya na bababa na daw sila kaya hinarangan ko at kinuha ung cellphone sa bulsa nya. Yung cellphone ay patay kaya binuhay ko at ang lumabas yung mukha ko sa lockscreen.”

Hanchenn uploaded two videos of the jeepney encounter on Facebook. She hopes that her experience could serve as a warning for others to be more aware of their own safety.

You can watch the videos here:

What Can I Do To Secure My Phone Against Thieves?

In a post on the CMCM website, we learn this good hack from a user:

“My mobile phone was stolen last week. But thanks to CM Locker, I didn’t feel the need to panic. It has a feature called ‘intruder selfie’ which takes a snapshot of anyone who tries to break into my phone. It actually e-mailed me a snapshot of the thief. I checked my email and found out that it was someone in my class who stole it. I forwarded the e-mail to him, and found my phone in my drawer the next day.”

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