Two persons have been arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for reportedly selling Shopee Pay and PayMaya accounts with SIM (subscriber identify module) cards.
The NBI identified those arrested as Lyra A. Espiritu and Jonarcel T. Manalo who were nabbed in separate operations conducted by the bureau’s Cybercrime Division (NBI-CCD) in Las Pinas City and Bacoor City.
In a press statement, the NBI said: “The two separate operations stemmed from information that certain Facebook accounts are selling Shopee Pay accounts and PayMaya accounts with registered SIM cards that are used for fraudulent purposes, such as online scams.”
It also said: “NBI-CCD undercover agents were able to established communications with the target Facebook accounts and were able to order fifty (50) Shopee pay accounts with registered SIM card for P800 from the Facebook account of Subject Espiritu, while the undercover agents were able to order thirty (30) PayMaya accounts with registered SIM card for P600 from the Facebook account of Subject.”
After the arrest, the NBI said both Espiritu and Manalo were charged with violations of Republic Act (RA) No. 8484, the Access Devices Regulation Act of 2012, and RA 11934, the SIM Registration Act in relation to the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012