PNP clarifies: Naic police finance officer lost money due to hacking, not e-sabong
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) has clarified that the finance officer of the Naic Municipal Police Station in Cavite province lost public funds due to hacking, and not because it was spent on online cockfighting or ‘e-sabong’.
According to PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo, the finance sergeant received notifications about withdrawals from the automated teller machine (ATM) accounts entrusted to her, that contained the Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) funds of the station.
Two withdrawals were made: one amounting to P47,700 which was transferred to a Landbank account, and a P50,000 transferred to a Union Bank account.
“That is not correct, ‘yong ating finance sergeant ng Naic, Cavite, naka-receive siya ng email informing her na nagkaroon ng withdrawal do’n sa account na hawak niya na naglalaman ng MOOE ng kanilang station, na apparently merong withdrawal na P47,700 na inilipat sa isang Land Bank account, at another P50,000 na inilipat sa Union Bank,” Fajardo said in a press conference on Wednesday.
“So immediately no’ng nareceive niya ‘yong prompt na ‘yon alam nilang wala namang withdrawal dahil hawak niya ‘yong ATM, pumunta siya sa ATM branch at no’ng chineck niya indeed, wala na talagang laman,” she added.
Fajardo said that the finance sergeant coordinated with Landbank about the incident, and the state-owned bank confirmed that the station and the police officer’s personal bank accounts were indeed hacked.
“Right there and there nakipag-ugnayan po siya sa Landbank at para i-hold or i-confirm kung talagang nagkaroon din ng withdrawal. It appears na kinonfirm na mismo ng Landbank na-hack po ‘yong account ng ating personnel. So there is no truth to rumors na itong pera po ay nagamit sa talpakan,” she explained.
“Na-hack po ‘yong account ng ating personnel, actually dalawang ATM account niya ang na-hack, ‘yong kanyang personal ATM plus ‘yong PNP payroll na siya po ang nangangalaga being the finance sergeant po no’ng kanilang station,” she added.
Prior to PNP’s clarification, there were rumors that the funds were misused, as the finance officer allegedly used government funds for gambling, through the now-famous e-sabong or online cockfighting games.
There are also speculations that the police officer may have fallen prey to phishing scams, or activities where criminal groups pose as legitimate websites and bank personnel to obtain confidential data or login credentials through text messaging or online means.
Fajardo reminded police officers that they are not spared from the possible dangers of online hacking schemes.
“Ang ating paalala […] pati ‘yong ating mga pulis ay hindi exempted dito sa mga hacking incident, ‘yong mga online/ internet-related crimes, so siguro ang paalala natin sa ating mga kababayan pati sa mga kapulisan, mag-ingat sa pagta-transact online,” she said.
This is not the first time PNP issued reminders against phishing: ever since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, authorities have reminded people who have moved to online transactions to avoid direct interaction to be more discerning of their activities.
READ: PNP warns public against spam texts
Last January, a group of teachers complained about their salaries inside their Landbank accounts being siphoned away, in a case believed to have originated from bank hacking.
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