Fifteen Chinese nationals and seven others were arrested by agents of the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG) in simultaneous operations in Ilocos Norte for alleged involvement in telecom fraud.
Police said the suspects were arrested along Norte-Abra Road in Dingras and in Barangay 51A, Nangalisan East in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte, a report from the PNP-ACG on Wednesday said.
The police operations stemmed from a letter of the Minister of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China about a telecom fraud believed to originate from the Philippines, according to the report.
The syndicate allegedly preys on Chinese nationals in Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and mainland China.
Police said members of the syndicate pretend to be the staff of the Chinese Embassy or the Chinese law enforcement and even use the photograph the Minister of Public Security. The syndicate tells their victims that they are involved in crimes and asks for money to be transferred to “safe accounts.”
The Chinese police refer to the modus as “telecom fraud” or the use of telecommunication products or services to illegally extort money from victims through deceptive schemes.
This is similar to the recently unveiled “Tokhang Telecom Fraud,” where criminals pretend to be police officers and warn innocent people that they are included in the drugs watchlist before asking for personal or financial information.
READ: Cops to public: Beware of text, call ‘tokhang’ scam
The PNP-ACG said that its agents have been conducting undercover operations in the area to identify and locate the suspects through the IP addresses and telephone numbers they used in the crime.
Police also revealed that the Chinese nationals arrested by the police were coddled by a Filipino citizen, whom they did not name.
Operatives of the PNP-ACG confiscated from the suspects several units of gateway switches, laptops, cell phones, telephones, and SIM card scripts.
Cases for violation of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 and Estafa are being prepared against the suspects.
Police Chief Supt. Marni Marcos Jr., director of the PNP-ACG, said that the police will remain committed to track down syndicates operating in the country. /ee