Police Colonel Rommel Javier, the new chief of the financial crimes unit of the Philippine National Police, said his unit is identifying and running after bank scammers using the internet to defraud people of their money.
Col. Javier said this in reaction to the report made by fraud investigators of the Union Bank of the Philippines who tracked syndicates engaged in buying inactive bank accounts in order to funnel funds taken through phishing and other similar cyber offenses.
Phishing is an increasingly prevalent cybercrime where fraudsters contact targets by email or text message, pretend to be banks or other credible institutions, and lure them into giving up sensitive information like bank account and credit card details including passwords.
Alnord Kevin Maniago of Union Bankâs Enterprise Fraud Management Division has endorsed his teamâs findings to the PNPâs financial crimes unit.
âWe have identified certain personalities who are paying money to bank depositors who have not been using their accounts. These groups pay for access to these accounts in order to withdraw funds that came in through cybercrimes,â Maniago said.
âAfter the victim gives up his details, money taken from him through fraud is then deposited to the purchased account which the scammer subsequently withdraws,â Maniago added.
Javier warned the public against selling their accounts to these syndicates because âin doing so they become accomplices in the perfection of a crime defined by the cybercrime law.â
Javier assured the bank of the authoritiesâ full support in identifying and arresting the scammers and their accomplices.
