‘Manginginom pala!’: Hacker ordered P1 million-worth of alcohol, says Gatchalian

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Sherwin Gatchalian disclosed Thursday that the hacker of his credit card had ordered P1 million-worth of alcoholic beverages, contrary to his initial suspicion that the latter had purchased food items.

Gatchalian made the revelation as he filed an incident report with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) following his credit card hacking.

“Nung nakuha niya ‘yung OTP (one-time password), um-order siya ng P1 million worth of items. Pero natuklasan ko, hindi pala matakaw itong tao kundi manginginom dahil isang milyong alcohol ang in-order nya,” Gatchalian said in a press briefing.

Gatchalian suspects that the hacker will be selling the alcoholic beverages purchased using the hacked credit card.

“Hindi ko alam kung paano niya uubusin ‘yun pero ang suspetya ko dahil alcohol ang binili niya, ibebenta niya ito dahil mabilis ibenta yung alcohol,” the senator said.

According to Gatchalian, the hacker managed to change his registered phone number, giving the hacker access to the OTPs for the online transactions.

Gatchalian said the incident highlights the need for banks to strengthen their security measures to protect consumers.

/MUF