AGENTS of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) 7 arrested 24 foreigners whom they accused of running an online scam in a subdivision in Guadalajara, Barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City yesterday afternoon.
The suspects, who are Taiwanese and speak Mandarin, allegedly blackmailed residents of mainland China and Taiwan as part of the scam.
“We served a search warrant because there is an online fraud inside the house,” said Supervising Agent Allan Tubi, officer-in-charge of NBI’s Regional Cybercrime Center-Visayas Cluster.
During the raid, some foreigners jumped over the fence, but were later caught by the agents.
The NBI seized several cell phones, cords, transmitter receivers, documents, computers and other items inside the house. Representatives from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (Teco) and Taiwanese police were present during the operation.
Most of the group’s alleged victims were active and retired Taiwanese government officials, whose financial records were retrieved by the suspects’ cohorts.
Some of these victims, too, have pending criminal cases, according to Cebu City Councilor Dave Tumulak.
“Mo-try sila pag-negotiate kunohay nga naa’y mga pending cases ang mga officials didto ug silay mo-settle (They negotiate by offering to settle some of their victims’ pending cases),” he said.
Rented house
The suspects reportedly introduced themselves as police or government prosecutors. They are believed to have duped their victims of millions and deposited these in banks in Taiwan.
The suspects in Cebu called them and persuaded them to settle their debts, otherwise charges would be filed against them. The initial investigation showed they had no Filipino victims.
Tumulak, deputy mayor on police matters, said that the foreigners possibly chose to operate in the country because they thought they could get away with their crimes.
“Duna sila’y ilang kaugalingong booth, mora’g call center agents (They worked in individual booths, like in a call center),” he said.
He also said the foreigners have cohorts in Cebu City who are still at large.
Tumulak added the operation of the suspects in a five-story house—reportedly owned by Avelina Vidovic—in Buena Hills started last August. The foreigners hired a local house help.
The NBI, however, received reports the Taiwanese nationals started running their online fraud business in March this year. After three months, they took time off to avoid detection, then resumed a few months later.
What they did
Last Sept. 8 last year, the Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 arrested 69 citizens of Taiwan and People’s Republic of China for running the same scheme.
Police said that the suspects called their victims through a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service.
The first caller would make accusations against the victim, then demand an amount in exchange for dropping the case.
Another cohort would then call up the same person and pretend to be a police officer or judge, telling the target that he had received complaints from the first caller.
Before the agents barged inside the house past 12 p.m. yesterday, it took months for the NBI to confirm the foreigners were running an online fraud call center.
The bureau received complaints from Teco, after Taiwanese police traced the suspects were making calls from Cebu City through the internet protocol address.
Falsified
A Regional Trial Court (RTC) judge issued the search warrant for alleged violations of Republic Act (RA) 8484 (Access Devices Regulation Act of 1998) and RA 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012).
RA 8484 regulates the issuance of access devices like credit cards.
The law prohibits “the use of a falsified document, false information, fictitious identities and addresses, or any form of false pretense or misrepresentation” in the application for an access device.
RA10175 punishes persons who commit computer-related offenses such as forgery, fraud and identity theft.
The suspects may be deported because their alleged victims are living in Taiwan and mainland China. Last year, the 69 suspects caught by the police were deported.