THE National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has arrested a suspected hacker of accounts of private individuals through a booking site so he can allegedly enter hotels in Dumaguete and elsewhere.
The arrest came following a complaint raised by personnel of a local hotel in Dumaguete City.
NBI special investigator III Maria Contessa Lastimoso said the arrest on Tuesday, May 10, stemmed from a complaint of the account holder who is a foreigner and who made queries as to why his account number had bookings in Dumaguete.
Lastimoso said this refers to an illegal use of an access device or a credit card, which is in violation of Republic Act 8484.
She identified the suspected hacker as a certain Eduardo Friolanita, 31, a resident of Boloc-boloc, Sibulan, Negros Oriental, married with three children, and who claimed to be a former utility employee in Makati.
The suspect said that he is skilled in video and photo editing with the use of Pinnacle and Adobe Premiere.
NBI operatives recovered from his room gadgets, including a laptop where all transactions were found, including a falsified identification card.
Also recovered were illegal drugs paraphernalia, including two improvised tooters, one plastic sachet of suspected shabu, and an empty plastic sachet containing shabu residue.
But Friolanita denied the accusations against him, saying the voucher that he presented to the front desk of the hotel was sent to him by a friend after a conversation through Skype and that the account number was given to him so he can enter the hotel.
A hotel employee who refused to be identified said a booking site contacted the hotel to inquire why the credit card account of a certain Nguyen has deductions when she is not booked in Dumaguete.
The suspect’s ID did not match with that of the voucher.
The hotel employee, however, said they are only interested with the payment and is not filing a case against the suspect. (PNA)