Internet, Cebu base made syndicate’s fraud operation easy
A representative of the Embassy of Taiwan (standing) checks on the 68 Taiwanese and Chinese nationals who were arrested in operations of a syndicate engaged in the cybercrime fraud. The suspects are detained in Camp Sergio Osmena where an inventory is being made of telephones, computers and other gadgets seized from houses and condominium units in Cebu City where they operated. (CDN PHOTO/ JUNJIE MENDOZA)
They couldn’t speak English well and usually stayed indoors.
When police raided a two-story rented house in barangay Mabolo on Tuesday, they found a residence full of Taiwanese nationals and an extensive network of computers and telephone cables.
The occupants had been staying for almost a year in Casals Subdivision, one of seven locations in a sweeping raid that exposed a syndicate engaged in online fraud that targeted businessmen in Taiwan and mainland China.
Charges are being prepared against 68 foreigners —43 Taiwanese and 25 mainland Chinese—for violation of Republic Act (RA) 8484 or the Access Device Regulation Act of 1998 through the use of Information and Communication Technology in line with RA 10175.
The access device law carries a penalty of a P10,000 fine or twice the value obtained by the offense, whichever is greater and a jail term of 6 to 20 years.
The charge of “conspiracy to commit access device fraud” under Section 12 would mean a close look at the participation of any party in the clandestine operation, including house owners.
LOCAL CONTACTS
But Chief Supt. Prudencio Bañas, regional director of Police Regional Office Central Visayas (PRO-7), said that based on initial findings, building owners were in the dark.
“Initially, they did not know. Some (renters) pretended to be a family or group of tourist who wanted to learn English in Cebu. But it’s impossible that they didn’t have local contacts. We are trying to identify them,” Bañas told reporters.
The house in Casals Subdivision had the largest number of occupants at 26.
“Their agent contacted us to rent the house for almost a year now. We also handle other businesses so its normal to transact through agents,” said Marc Ynoc, son of house owner Antonio Ynoc in a phone interview.
He said they had no idea the house was being used for a cybercrime operation. Ynoc said the rent was paid three months in advance.
“I live in the same subdivision. I noticed the house was always closed during the day,”he said.
The arrival of a police team serving a search warrant sent the occupants scampering in panic.
Bunkbeds were found in two rooms in the first floor, apparently used as sleeping quarters. Telephone cables and computers were scattered in the rooms.
Another house was raided in Forest Hills barangay Guadalupe.
Chief Insp. Mark Sucalit, who led the raid there, said police are still guarding the house and that no one has come forward yet as its owner.
“We already asked the neighbors and some of the barangay tanods, but they could not give us a name .
But we have a name already. We can’t divulge it yet until we verify it,” he told CDN.
The raid was conducted on the strength of a search warrant issued by Executive Judge Soliver Peras of Regional Trial Court in Cebu City.
One warrant identified a certain Chien-Chih Lee and occupants of No. 30 Sunflower drive, Sunny Hills in barangay Talamban.
A total of four houses in private subdivisions were raided in barangays Guadalupe, Talamban and Mabolo in Cebu City aside from three units in Lot 8 Condominium in Mabolo.
A total of 69 persons were taken into custody. Police later released without charge a Filipino male, who happened to be in one house accompanying his girlfriend, said Supt. Rex Derilo, acting head of the Regional Intelligence Division.
All 68 foreigners are staying for now at the multi-purpose hall of Camp Sergio Osmeña, PRO 7 headquarters, under police guard.
They sat in chairs, with heads hanging low and tried to keep their faces out of view of news cameras yesterday.
A representative from the Consulate of Taiwan visited the camp to check on the case, but he declined to be interviewed.
Experts from Taiwan are examining several laptop computers, telephone sets and other telecommunication devices seized from the premises.
DEPORTATION
Police said they would be subject for deportation proceedings and sent back to Taiwan or China as soon as criminal charges are filed in court.
Reynaldo Deray, legal officer of the Bureau of Immigration, told CDN it would only take a day to process the cancellation of their passports.
“I think Jerry Wang from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office has the power to issue an order revoking their passports. This will make them undocumented aliens in the country. That is when we come in,” he told CDN.
Deray said a different process will be followed for mainland Chinese nationals.
Once their travel documents are revoked and canceled, they can be subjected to deportation proceedings for violating Commonwealth Act 613 or also known as the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940.
MODUS
Supt. Bañas said the modus of the syndicate was to blackmail Chinese and Taiwanese businessmen.
The victims were falsely told that their bank accounts were being investigated for money laundering or other serious crimes.
Operators hired by the syndicate would convince the victims to transfer all their money to a so- called “secure bank account,” pending the investigation.
All communications were made over the Internet.
Once the victim transferred the money, the scammers would cut off communication and recover the bank deposits.
Last June, Jerry Chih-Yung Wang, executive assistant of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, wrote the Philippine police requesting help in investigating a “transnational telecommunication fraud syndicate” whose operation was traced to Cebu through the IP address of computer messages which left an electronic trail.
Police were told the syndicate could earn millions of pesos a day with the online operation.
After almost two months of surveillance, police identified their hideouts in private subdivisions and condominiums in Metro Cebu.
Bañas said the syndicate had been operating for some time now in the country. A group was apprehended in Metro Manila four years ago and may have transferred operations to Cebu to avoid detection, he said.