BE EXTRA watchful when transacting using your Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards.
This warning was issued by the police after they arrested a woman who was caught in the act of putting glue in the ATM slot inside a mall in Mandaue City on Monday.
Police Senior Supt. Julian Entoma, the city director of the Mandaue City Police Office (MCPO), identified the suspect as Lunalyn De Pedro, 35, of Barangay Gustilo Lapaz in Iloilo City.
Entoma said this modus is common in Iloilo, Capiz and Bacolod where an ATM card appears captured by the machine because of the glue applied by the suspects.
The crime would start when the suspects would offer to help the unsuspecting victim whose card has apparently been captured.
He added that the suspects would usually victimize the elderly.
“Kadaghanan ilang mabiktima kay kining mga senior citizens nga mo-withdraw pag kwarta. I-assist kunohay kay dunay sipyat,” Entoma said.
De Pedro quickly admitted to the crime and claimed that she has been doing the illegal acts since 2009 to feed her three children. She said her husband is in the hospital.
“Matagal na. Ako lang bumubuhay ng mga anak ko,” she said.
She claimed that she was a victim of card switching before and learned to do the same crime after the incident. She added that the largest amount she has illegally withdrawn from a single transaction was P30,000.
Entoma though, said that De Pedro is a member of a notorious illegal card switching gang called “Glue Gang.”
In fact, the suspect was already arrested for card switching in 2011 in Iloilo.