8 suspects in cyber crimes, fraud fall

MANILA, Philippines—Agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) rounded up at noon yesterday eight foreign nationals suspected of being involved in cyber crimes at a house in a posh village in Pasig City.

Carrying a search warrant,  NBI National Capital Region agents swooped down on the house on Coconut Street  inside  Valle Verde IV subdivision in Barangay Ugong and arrested the suspects.

NBI-NCR director and lawyer Constantino Joson told reporters that they were  still verifying  whether the suspects came from China, Taiwan, or Hong Kong.

The NBI refused to disclose their names pending the confirmation of their nationalities.

Surveillance

Joson  said  the raid was the result of three months of surveillance on the house occupants whose suspicious activities  were tipped off by an informant.

The NBI-NCR director said that what the informant initially  noticed was the multiple Internet connections in the house.

The occupants were also rarely seen by their neigbors, the tipster told the NBI.

Joson said  they suspect  the occupants could be part of a syndicate involved in credit card fraud and other cyber crimes by the way the computers were arranged inside the house.

Violations

He described the layout as  “similar to a call center operation.”

Apart from the arrest of the eight foreigners, the NBI-NCR  agents seized several computers, the contents of which have to be scrutinized by bureau investigators.

The suspects could be charged with violation of Republic Act 8484,  or an act regulating the issuance and use of access devices and prohibiting their fraudulent use.

Joson said they were conducting follow-up operations against 10 other groups involved in similar illegal activities  based in Metro Manila subdivisions.

The groups had reportedly transferred their base of operations from Malaysia to the Philippines, he added.

Search warrant

Salvador Lozano Castro, security officer of Valle Verde IV, said the raid  was conducted on the strength of a search warrant dated May 19 issued by Judge Amor Reyes of Branch 21 of the Manila Regional Trial Court.

The search warrant  indicated  a violation of Section 8 of RA 8484, or the Access Devices Regulation Act of 1998 and also showed that the house was being rented by a certain Johnny Chen.

Castro said he saw at least 20 people,  nine of them  women aged 17 to 22, being led to a  van.

IT devices

He said the NBI also confiscated computer parts, phone adaptors and other IT (information technology) devices allegedly used in credit card fraud.

“We were not aware that there were 20 people living there. During our daily rounds, we could only see two to three persons,” he said, adding that the tenants had lived in the place for almost a year.

He said that sometime in March, operatives of the NBI tried to enter the subdivision but were denied entry because they lacked the necessary warrant.