Beware of ‘clone’ credit cards, NBI warns
MANILA, Philippines – A suspected member of a syndicate which makes duplicates of credit cards has been arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in an entrapment operation.
According to NBI Director Nestor Mantaring, the group uses an improvised “skimming” device to download the information in a credit card’s magnetic stripe. The information is then used to create a duplicate of the card.
Mantaring said it was the first time they seized a skimming device in the country. The battery-operated gadget, however, seemed to be improvised, he added.
Arrested was Melvin Ticson Garcia, 30, a driver and resident of San Jose del Monte City in Bulacan. He admitted that he paid Menandro Caleze, a waiter of a bar on Roxas Boulevard, to swipe their customers’ credit cards on the skimming device.
The gang’s illegal activities, however, were discovered by the bank which issued the credit card. Bank officials then alerted the bar owner about their discovery.
Caleze admitted that he earned P2,500 from swiping five of their customers’ credit cards on Aug. 15 and 16. He also pointed to Garcia as the one who gave him the skimming device.
An investigation by the Anti-Fraud and Computer Crimes Division, headed by Vicente de Guzman, showed that the gang used its duplicate credit cards in stores like the SM Hypermarket in Marilao, Bulacan.
De Guzman said the gang was able to buy P64,808 worth of groceries using one of the “clone” cards.
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