Man arrested for using fake credit card to buy phone in Mandaluyong

A man was arrested by anti-cybercrime cops after using a fake credit card to buy a cellphone worth P45,000 in a Mandaluyong City mall.

Operatives of the Philippine National Police’s Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP ACG) arrested Stephen Lucena, 38, a resident of Manila, and his female companion identified as Nathalia Tripon after the bank questioned the amount of the suspect’s purchase, the police said on Wednesday.

Senior Supt. Ronaldo de Jesus, officer in charge of the PNP ACG, said a bank representative informed the ACG that the mall security arrested Lucena for transacting using a credit card with fraudulent information.

Based on the initial investigation, Lucena used a credit card under the name of one Crispin Dela Cruz Rumbawa and bought a Samsung Galaxy S8 cellphone for an amount of P45,990.

As a standard operating procedure of the store, they checked the credit card information of the person if the single transaction was more than thirty thousand pesos.

Mall authorities then verified with the bank if the credit card was authentic after seeing that the photo on the card was different from the photo Lucena gave to them.

Recovered from his possession were Samsung Duo S and sim card, PLDT ID Card bearing the name, and a credit card under the name of the legitimate owner. The cellphone recovered from the suspect was submitted for digital forensic examination.

Lucena and Tripon will be charged for violating Section 9 of Republic Act 8484 or the Access Device Regulations Act.

With his arrest, De Jesus encouraged financial and other private institutions to coordinate with the law enforcement agencies for investigative assistance and arresting cyber criminals.

“The cooperation of the bank for this case is an indication that they trusted the capabilities of the PNP ACG in curbing cybercriminals,” De Jesus said. JE/rga