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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider 2 swindlers nabbed in Caloocan City

2 swindlers nabbed in Caloocan City

Published Sep 8, 2022 03:17 pm

Two individuals who allegedly swindled computer parts from an online seller were arrested in an entrapment operation by the Eastern District Anti-Cybercrime Team (EDACT) of the Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG) on Tuesday, Sept. 6, in Caloocan City.

The EDACT identified the suspects as Greco Jose Gonzalo, and Virgilio Agito.

According to the report, the seller said Gonzalo contacted him on Facebook and initially purchased a keyboard using a Facebook account under his name.

Afterwards, the seller began receiving orders for many items from a Facebook account of a certain “Echo Lim.”

Lim purchased a computer monitor and other items worth P4,110 and P3,000 on Sept. 1 and a solid-state drive (SSD) and motherboard worth P9,930 and P11,100, respectively, on Sept. 2.

In all transactions, Echo Lim sent screenshots of online banking receipts as proof of payment to the seller.

The seller went to the bank to validate the payments on Sept. 3 after he saw Lim’s deposits were not reflected in his bank account.

The seller reported Lim to the authorities when the bank discovered and validated that Gonzalo and Lim had the same account number.

On Tuesday, Sept. 6, the seller informed the authorities that Echo Lim made another purchase – a computer set worth P46,000 – prompting police to organize an entrapment operation.

Agito was arrested after receiving the computer set.

Agito reasoned he had “no knowledge of the fraudulent acts of his friend” and said he just received the package “on behalf of Gonzalo.”

Police traced and arrested Gonzalo after he received the package from Agito through a courier he booked.

They were both arrested in Mary Homes, Caloocan City.

The suspects are facing charges for swindling/estafa, pertaining to Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC), in relation to Section 6 of Republic Act (RA) 10175 or the “Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.”

Brig. Gen. Joel Doria, chief of the ACG, reminded the public to be wary of individuals online who may be posing as either legitimate buyers or sellers, and to be cautious in making online transactions.

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