The Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank), in close coordination with the Quick Response Team (QRT) and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Region 4A of the Philippine National Police (PNP), recently apprehended alleged credit-card fraudsters in SM Fairview, Quezon City, and Laguna.
The suspects were identified as Eden San Pedro Hipolito, Romina Catama Ishimoto and Rizzalle Bautista Gallarde who, with the alleged use of a counterfeit HSBC debit card, fraudulently purchased consumer items amounting to P29,284.35 at SM Fairview Supermarket on September 18.
An alert cashier at the supermarket then verified the card with Banco de Oro, SM’s acquiring bank, and found that the bank identification number on the card was for a UnionBank card, not HSBC’s.
UnionBank immediately alerted its client and confirmed that the transaction was unauthorized. UnionBank then deployed its QRT to the merchant.
The QRT subjected the alleged fraudsters to standard medico-legal procedures and brought them to Police Station 5 of the Quezon City Police Department (QCPD) in Fairview for inquest.
A parallel investigation was subsequently conducted by the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Division and the UnionBank Security Management Group. Coordination with other fraud victims was also done to further strengthen the case against the suspects.
The alleged fraudsters were charged with violating the Access Device law under Republic Act 8484 at the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office and were detained at the QCPD Station 5 in Fairview.
Another alleged fraudster in possession of 191 fraudulent card data was apprehended in a raid conducted by the CIDG Region 4A in Laguna.
According the CIDG Anti-Fraud and Commercial Crimes Unit, of the 191 seized cards, seven were purported UnionBank cards. Except for one, the numbers that appeared on the cards weren’t UnionBank card numbers.
UnionBank Security Management Group is now coordinating with the Credit Card Association of the Philippines to investigate this matter further.