2 Bulgarians face raps for ATM card fraud

A POLICEMAN hold up the photographs of two Bulgarians accused of ATM skimming at a mall in Pampanga province. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Philippines—Police have sued two Bulgarian citizens for the alleged cloning of automated teller machine (ATM) cards, or ATM skimming, and asked the Bureau of Immigration to help investigate if the foreigners were part of an international syndicate.

Mladenov Emil Stoyanov, 22, and Kanev Lyuven Georgiev, 28, were sued for violating Republic Act No. 8484, or the Access Devices Regulation Act of 1998, and RA 8792, or the Electronic Commerce Act. The case was filed in the office of the provincial prosecutor on Saturday.

The Bulgarians were arrested on May 15 when security guards at SM City Pampanga held them after a client of Banco de Oro reported finding two personal identification number (PIN) pads with card readers at an ATM there. The client also noticed that the foreigners were watching the ATM booth.

Central Luzon regional police director Chief Supt. Raul Petrasanta said police were investigating if the foreigners were able to withdraw money from the machine.

He said investigators recovered from the Bulgarians at least three data port cables that matched the ATM card skimmer, a screwdriver used in picking ATM cards and a laptop installed with software that decodes accounts.

The suspects declined to answer questions from reporters on Monday, saying they had yet to get lawyers.

Their embassy has been alerted of their arrest, Petrasanta said.

The suspects, he said, arrived in the Philippines on May 5 as tourists.

Officials of private banks told a Senate committee in February that depositors lost P220 million to ATM fraud in 2013. Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon