NBI hunts 3 more suspects in fraudulent use of Sen. Gatchalian's credit card

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Friday, Aug. 6, said it is still hunting down three more suspects involved in the hacking and unauthorized use of the credit card of Sen. Sherwin T. Gatchalian.

This was disclosed by NBI Cybercime Division (NBI-CCD) Chief Victor V. Lorenzo after the arrest of one of the suspects he identified as Julius Anacin.

Lorenzo said Anacin, a 24-year-old computer science student, was arrested last Aug. 2 in Silang, Cavite by NBI-CCD agents who were issued a search warrant based on intelligence information.

Anacin has been charged with violations of Republic Act No. 8484, the Access Devices Regulation Act of 1998, and RA 10175, the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.

Lorenzo said that while Gatchalian filed a complaint before the NBI-CCD last Jan. 7, it took some time for the NBI-CCD to identify and find any of the suspects.

“Kasi nga they realized yung victim nila si Sen. Gatchalian. So nagtago. It took time for us na ma-determine (They realized that their victim is Sen. Gatchalian. So, they hid themselves. It took time for us to determine who they are),” he explained.

Gatchalian went personally to the NBI headquarters in Manila last Jan. 7 to seek the investigation of the fraudulent use of his credit card.

The senator said the suspects managed to order around P1 million worth of items, mostly alcoholic drinks, and have them delivered to several places using an online delivery service.

He said he decided to seek NBI’s assistance because of numerous reports from similar victims of credit card fraud.