A former university scholar was arrested for the third time after he was again accused of hacking credit cards to acquire iPhones.
Jerwin Minglanilla, 28, was arrested in an entrapment operation in barangay Mambaling, Cebu City last Monday afternoon.
He was out on bail for a previous offense.
The arrest stemmed from the complaint of Globe Telecom whose officials said Minglanilla was able to acquire three iPhone 6 units offered in postpaid plans using three credit cards with his photo but with different names.
Police said the telco was looking into P2-million worth of irregular transactions involving a similar modus by the suspect.
Last Monday, a police decoy contacted Minglanilla asking him to purchase items using a hacked credit card. Minglanilla agreed to meet outside a fast-food chain in barangay Mambaling. Police arrested him when he arrived on a motorcycle.
Police said they found a medium-sized pack of shabu in the motorbike’s utility box.
Supt. Fermin Armendarez III of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Central Visayas (CIDG-7) described Minglanilla as the leader of the “Cebu Hackers Gang.” He said the gang hacks credit card accounts of different companies and had victimized cardholders in cities of Cebu, Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu and Talisay.
With his arrest, the CIDG-7 official said they hope more victims come forward to identify Minglanilla.
Minglanilla will be charged with violation of Republic Act 8484 or the Access Devices Regulation Act of 1998.
Minglanilla will also be charged with estafa and possession of illegal drugs.
Minglanilla admitted being a hacker but denied using illegal drugs.
He was last arrested in Feb. 9, 2012 after he purchased a plane ticket by hacking the credit card account of a physician.
Dr. Wilson Carvajal dela Calzada had complained that unknown to him his Citibank Gold Visa credit card was used to buy airplane tickets online. Minglanilla earlier claimed that he extracted the credit card numbers by surfing the Internet.
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