A WOMAN posing as Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia on social media is wanted by the National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI 7).
The NBI 7 filed a complaint for computer-related identity theft against Conchita Traya, a resident of Agusan del Norte, before the Cebu Provincial Prosecutor’s Office on Monday, Oct. 3, 2022, after the governor complained that someone was using her persona to con the public.
Traya allegedly created accounts on Facebook and Instagram in the guise of the governor and used the accounts to solicit funds from netizens.
On one occasion, the suspect sent a chat message to a teacher in Daanbantayan asking for a cash donation of P5,000, saying that she (pretending as the governor) was trying to come up with P100,000 for a non-government organization.
Thinking it was a scam, the teacher sent P5 but edited the e-wallet receipt to make it appear that she sent P5,000 The teacher also took screenshots of what she and the poser discussed and sent these to Daanbantayan Mayor Sun Shimura, who forwarded the screenshots to the governor.
According to the NBI 7, Traya was forced to reveal her true identity when she gave the teacher her e-wallet account.
The NBI 7 served a warrant to the financial technology firm that operated the e-wallet to get additional information on Traya.
It learned that Traya, also known as Chita Eniza Tra, submitted her voter’s ID issued by the Commission on Elections to GXI (GCash) for the verification of her account.
The ID was defaced so that her real name was hidden, but Traya was betrayed by her signature on the document in which she signed her complete name, according to the press statement issued by the NBI 7.
“In addition, Conchita has at least five Facebook accounts and four of the accounts bore her real name and had profile photos which matched with Conchita’s selfie photo during the registration process with GCash, including her address,” the NBI 7 said.