Dead men tell no tales, but a credit card can

MANILA, Philippines – Police arrested a 35-year-old man in Mandaluyong City last week for using a credit card whose owner has been dead for two years.

Senior Supt. Gilbert Sosa said the suspect Eamonn Criss Madriaga ended up behind bars after falling in a trap set by the police Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG).

Sosa, who heads the ACG, said they lured Madriaga with a new credit card in the name of the man he had been impersonating.

Madriaga was arrested on the complaint of the law firm, Baterina Baterina Casals Lozada & Tiblani, which represents a local bank.

“He has been using the credit card to buy groceries, an electric motorcycle, and other items from stores in Metro Manila,” Sosa said.

The ACG suspects that a bank employee supplied Madriaga with the personal information of a deceased client so that the suspect could apply for a credit card in that person’s name.

According to Sosa, Madriaga used the credit card to buy items which he sold at a lower price. The loot was then divided between Madriaga and his still unidentified accomplice.

The ACG learned that in just two days, Madriaga was able to buy P287,801.34 worth of goods.

ACG spokesperson Chief Insp. Jay Guillermo said they collared Madriaga at about 11:30 am on Friday, February 13, 2015, along Sen. Neptali Gonzales Street in Barangay San Jose, Mandaluyong City.

Guillermo said an undercover policeman posed as a courier who delivered to Madriaga a new credit card which bore the name of the deceased bank client.

Madriaga was reportedly caught red-handed when he accepted the new card and even presented a fake ID with the name of the dead man.

The suspect faces charges of violating Republic Act 8484 or the Access Device Act of 1998.