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19 scammers arrested in major vishing sting

August 29, 2024 Alfred P. Dalizon 204 views

NINETEEN persons, including two vloggers accused of involvement in voice phishing and scamming activities, were arrested by agents of the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group in an operation in Imus City, Cavite, the head of the unit said yesterday.

Major General Ronnie Francis M. Cariaga said they conducted the operation in collaboration with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the local police and barangay authorities.

The operation saw members of the PNP-ACG Cyber Financial Crime Unit serving a Warrant to Search, Seize and Examine Computer Data at one of their targets’ house in Imus City.

Prior to the August 23 operation, the PNP-ACG also dismantled three vishing hubs since last June.

Nine of the suspects were arrested in separate operations in General Trias and Trece Martires City in Cavite while 11 were apprehended in Taguig City.

The PNP-ACG said that several SIM cards, mobile devices, laptops, assorted bank documents, ledgers, and scripts used to defraud victims were recovered during the Imus City raid.

Under “vishing,” members of a syndicate poses as bank representatives to convince their targets to update their old card and reveal their bank account details such as credit card numbers, as well as provide their One-Time-Pin (OTP).

From simple vishing to spear phishing, the suspects use information obtained from credit card applications and ledgers or spreadsheets, likely taken from third-party service providers of the banks such as Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies, Cariaga said.

The scammers then use this information to access and siphon money from their victims’ bank accounts.

The arrested suspects, two of them “vloggers,” who were said to be providing technical support to the scammers, are facing charges for violation of Republic Act 12010 or the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA).

The official said that separate cases for violation of RA 8484 (Access Devices Regulation Act of 1998 as amended and RA 10173 (Data Privacy Act of 2012), both in relation to RA 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 will also be filed against the accused.

Cariaga said the cooperation of banks in the country is also crucial in the efficient investigation of cybercrimes involving financial fraud even as he urged the public, particularly victims, to promptly report cybercrime incidents to the PNP-ACG so they can conduct the necessary investigation.

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