Cebu City cops trying to unmask ATM scammer

THE Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) is trying to identify and pursue a man, who looks like a foreign national, for his alleged involvement in the automated teller machine (ATM) scams.

Senior Supt. Joel Doria, CCPO director, said on a press briefing on Friday that the man is now considered “a person of interest.”

Doria was referring to the man who was seen in the footage of security cameras of one of the banks whose ATM was compromised.

“We’re looking into the rogues gallery of the the anti-cybercrime unit of the Philippine National Police to establish his identity,” he said.

Doria also requested banks in Cebu City to provide them with a snapshot of the person when he withdrew from the different ATMs in different banks in the city.

“There is a possibility that our target belongs to a group although we have no evidence to prove that yet,” said Doria, who was referring to 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 last Nov. 16, 2016.

They lost a total of P423,000.

For 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 only discovered the unauthorized transactions 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 he 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.

He said that personal security is the best deterrent against the scam. He also gave tips on how to implement these personal security measures.

PERSONAL SECURITY MEASURES (SOURCE: CCPO CHIEF DORIA)

(1) Don’t let anyone see your ATM.

(2) In case you need to present your ATM for payment or for making transactions, make sure the person to whom you give your ATM is a trustworthy person.

(3) Use bags with radio frequency identification tags (FRID) that feature protective shields, which prevents personal data from ATMs  to be accessed only when the bag is opened.

(4) Keep receipts after every transaction that you make.