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Friday, July 11, 2003
Fake credit cards used to steal P5M
By Rose O. Versoza
CEBU -- Credit card transactions in the country are not as foolproof and secure as they seem.
A police Special Weapons and Tactics (Swat) team from Mandaue City arrested four Metro Manila residents, including a female American national and a pregnant woman, for using fake credit cards to buy over P527,000 worth of electric bulbs and housing materials from a hardware in Barangay Subangdaku.
Senior Insp. Rey Tiempo, who led the operation, said 20 other establishments and four banks also went to the Mandaue City Police Office (MCPO) Thursday afternoon and claimed the same group duped them.
As of 7:30 Thursday night, the amount that was reported lost to the group already reached P5 million.
Tiempo, the MCPO's administrative officer, said representatives from Equitable Bank, Citibank, Standard Chartered Bank and Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp. (HSBC) also confirmed the credit cards the suspects had been using are not registered with them.
These credit card accounts do not exist, bank officers said.
Similar cases were reported in May 2001 and December 1997, both involving transients who tried to buy expensive porcelain and watches using fake credit cards.
US and Australian law enforcement authorities have suggested one way consumers can prevent credit card fraud: tear up the carbon copies of your credit card payment slips, if you cannot keep them in a safe place.
Some arrested makers of fake credit cards have admitted all they had to do was pick up carbon copies of these payment slips from trash cans---then use the card information and cardholder's signature to make fake duplicate cards.
Estafa, fraud
The police is set to file charges for large-scale estafa and violation of the Credit Card Fraud Law against Vicente Galang Rayo, 30, of No. 7 McKinley St., Greenhills Subdivision, San Juan Metro Manila; Lourdes Castro Fjeld, 28, of No. 5 Tupas St., Pilar Village, Las Piņas; Dexter Anacio Bautista, 23, of Bacoor, Cavite; and Jacqueline Norris Johnson, 32, of Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila.
Fjeld and Rayo are reportedly staying in an upscale hotel.
SPO3 Raul Noynay, Subangdaku police investigator, said he will also verify with the Bureau of Immigration the status of Johnson's stay in the country and whether the Los Angeles passport she presented is authentic.
Fjeld, who is six months pregnant and married to a Norwegian, told Sun.Star she is unaware of any problems with her bank.
Noynay said Rayo was able to purchase P82,000 worth of items from Mandaue Trade Center (MTC) in Barangay Subangdaku, Mandaue City last Monday using his Standard Chartered Bank Visa.
The items were released because MTC's Equitable card reader approved the transaction.
Noynay said Equitable still managed to pay MTC for the amount, but when Equitable tried to collect from Standard Chartered Bank, the latter refused to pay because they did not have Rayo's credit card account.
Shopping trail
Last Tuesday, Fjeld purchased P363,000 worth of electric bulbs from MTC using her Standard Chartered Bank Mastercard. Just like the first transaction, the Equitable card reader also approved it, so MTC released the items.
However, when the store tried to collect from Equitable, it was told the bank cannot release payment because the credit card that was used was fake.
When Fjeld, Rayo, Bautista and Johnson went back to MTC Thursday morning, supposedly to make another purchase amounting to over P82,000, store owner Rogelio Lu Manglapus immediately called the police for assistance.
Tiempo, PO1 Elias Bagasbas, PO1 Lino Diez, PO1 Alden Zambrano and PO1 Bruslexter Lagahid arrived at MTC at 11:30 a.m. Thursday but the persons they were after immediately left on board a hired Nissan Urvan.
The policemen gave chase and the van stopped when they reached Lopez Jaena St., Barangay Subangdaku, Mandaue City.
Fjeld, Rayo and Bautista got down from the van and immediately ran, heading inside H&E Industries compound, but the Swat team caught up with them, police said.
It was then that Diez allegedly saw Bautista throw into a canal all the credit cards he was holding.
Swat policemen recovered the credit cards and brought all four persons to the Mandaue City Police Office.
Supplementary
Among those recovered were a Standard Chartered Bank Mastercard, HSBC Mastercard and Citibank Visa, all bearing the name of Fjeld; and a Standard Chartered Bank Visa, Citibank Visa and MBNA Platinum Plus Mastercard, all in Rayo's name.
"Sa aming dalawa ni Roger (referring to MTC owner Rogelio Lu Manglapus) walang problema. In-approve yung purchase. Hindi ko nga maintindihan kasi hindi raw sila binayaran ng bangko (That purchase was approved. There was no problem between me and the hardware store's owner. I don't understand why the bank didn't pay him.)," Fjeld told Sun.Star.
Noynay said that during their initial investigation, Fjeld and Rayo both admitted they are merely supplementary cardholders but it could not be ascertained who the principal cardholders are, because the two gave vague answers.
Tiempo suspects a big-time syndicate is involved, considering the highly technical and complicated nature of the scheme.
All four persons are now detained in the Mandaue Police Station 1. The van driver was released, as he was only hired to provide transportation to the group. Sun.Star Cebu
(July 11, 2003 issue)
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