This news item was featured on today's TV Patrol. Ginagawa pala itong MO kahit sa malalaking malls at restos. Ang syndicate may tao silang mga sales clerk at mga waiters. May smalll "gadget" sila to read the info from your CC.

Kaya ingat tayo mga Tsikoteers. Huwag basta ibibigay yung card pag bayaran na. Kelangan sundan yung waiter o salesclerk pag magbabayad na kayo.


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NBI Warns vs 'Credit Card Cloning'


The National Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday warned the public against a new modus operandi by criminals who "clone" credit card accounts, ABS-CBN News reported.

The NBI's Anti-Fraud and Computer Crimes Division said under the modus operandi, all information on the credit card are copied once swiped in a duplicating machine. An improvised skimming device slightly bigger than a matchbox is used to clone the card.

NBI chief Nestor Mantaring said credit card holders eating at restaurants usually become the victims once they use their cards to pay for their bill.

The modus operandi was uncovered after NBI agents arrested a suspect named Melvin Garcia during an entrapment. The suspect was identified as a courier of the skimming device.

The suspect claimed he is innocent and said he was just a courier.

The scheme was discovered after the owner of Club Malizzia bar on Roxas Boulevard in Pasay City complained to authorities after transactions made by three customers were left unpaid by the credit card company.

The customers also complained that purchases were made with their cards without their knowledge. The transactions, the complainants said, were made after they used their credit cards at the club.

During investigation, one of the club's waiters confessed that a certain Jonathan Valencerina paid him P500-P700 for every credit card he can swipe in the machine.

He said swiping the customer’s card in the machine will yield the required information to make a new one with the use of stolen identity and the access code.

Mantaring cautioned credit card holders to be vigilant on cards being used. He issued the same warning to businessmen to take steps to prevent identity theft and credit card cloning. With a report from Maan Macapagal