CEBU CITY–A man who looks like a foreigner is now being hunted by the police over his alleged involvement in the automated teller machine (ATM) scams.
“We’re looking into the rogues gallery of the the anti-cybercrime unit of the Philippine National Police to establish his identity,” said Senior Supt. Joel Doria, Cebu City Police Office director.
Doria said they were also requesting banks in Cebu City to provide them with a snap shot of the person when the latter withdrew from different ATM machines in the city.
Policemen were also dispatched to conduct surveillance operations and track down the bank scam artist.
“There is a possibility that our target belongs to a group although we have no evidence to prove that yet,” said Doria who spoke based on previous investigations involving ATM scams in Manila.
At least eight persons, including Cebu City Councilor Dave Tumulak, fell victim to ATM scams in a department store and ATMs in the cities of Cebu and Naga.
The series of unauthorized withdrawals from ATM bank accounts of seven persons happened inside a mall in Naga City, south Cebu on Nov. 16.
They lost a total of P423,000.
On his part, Tumulak said the bank scam artist made several unauthorized withdrawals in his Land Bank of the Philippines payroll account since Sept. 19.
He discovered the unauthorized transactions only last Nov. 9.
Tumulak, the chairman of the City Council committee on public order and safety, refused to reveal the total amount stolen from his account, but said the unauthorized withdrawals from his ATM amounted to P50,000 a day.
Doria cautioned people about skimming activities which involves the use of an electronic device attached to the ATM that records personal information from the card, including the pin number, giving scammers access to a client’s bank account.
“Personal security is the best solution to the scam. Never let anyone to see your ATM. But in case, you need to present your ATM for a payment or something, make sure the person to whom you give your ATM is trustworthy,” he said.
Doria also encouraged the public to choose bags with radio frequency identification tags (FRID) that feature a protective shield so personal data can only be accessed when the bag is opened.
“We do have high-tech gadgets now, and lawless elements also have evolved. Based on our monitoring, they have devices which they just point at your bags so they could copy your ATMs,” he said.
Doria also advised people to keep the receipts after every transactions.
“That (receipts) would serve as your reference. When you noticed that something is wrong with your account, then please report it immediately to the banks and the police,” he said.
Supt. Gregorio Galsim, chief of the Naga City Police Office, said money were stolen from the accounts of seven persons using two ATM inside the mall on Nov. 16.
The largest amount the suspect stole from a single bank account was P128,000 which belonged to the wife of an overseas Filipino worker.