Vice President Jejomar C. Binay renewed his call to the public to be wary of text scams bearing his name.

            "Be careful of text messages claiming you won a cash prize or a housing unit from my office or a certain Binay foundation," the Vice President said.

            "We do not engage in any raffle contests. Do not allow yourselves to fall victim to unscrupulous individuals," he added.

            A concerned citizen informed Binay of receiving the following text message:

            < D/ JEJOMAR "BINAY" Foundation, nforming u dat ur CP# Won! Worth Php870,000. only, in Pabahay ni ‘BINAY’ 2014! DTI NCR prmit#5410s13, to claim, Pls. Call me now!! Im, Atty. Vic A. Acosta. Thanks>"

            Last year, the National Bureau of Investigation arrested a woman in Bago City for allegedly using Binay’s name to swindle P500,000 from two contractors.

            NBI said Ma. Cristita Tortogo claimed to facilitate a housing contract from the Vice President and extorted money from two contractors.

            Tortogo is facing charges for violating The Anti-Bouncing Check Law and falsification of public documents. She is also facing other charges before the Bacolod City Prosecutor’s Office filed by the NBI.

            The NBI had also arrested a man posing as the Vice President and tried to extort P300,000 from business magnate Lucio Tan.