Three arrested for card hacking

CEBU, Philippines - Police arrested three people who allegedly connived with a credit card hacker who was arrested last Sunday night at the Mactan Cebu International Airport.

Inspector Delfin Bontuyan of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-7 identified the suspects as Nestor Eugenio, 49; his son Daniel, 19; and Daniel’s girlfriend, Rhea Santiago, 24.

Santiago, who hails from Parañaque City, was the one who actually used a fraudulently-secured plane ticket to Manila, Bontuyan said.

Bontuyan said they also arrested the Eugenios, who are residents of Barangay Linao, Minglanilla town, after they reportedly admitted to having connived with Jerwin Minglanilla, whom the CIDG has previously arrested for hacking credit cards.

According to Bontuyan, the arrest stemmed from the complaint of Al Metila Lagahit, who resides in Osmeña Boulevard, Cebu City.

In his affidavit, Lagahit said he was shocked when he found out last February 20 that his credit card was charged P6,102 by the Cebu Pacific-Pasig Branch for a transaction dated February 3.

The same ticketing office charged him with another P3,415 in the same month until the charges reached P46,000.  Lagahit said he never made the transactions as a Banco De Oro Gold Mastercard holder.

He reported the matter to BDO’s customer service section and complained about his billings.  He then requested the bank to block his credit card account.

The bank management then told the lawyer to conduct an investigation.

Lagahit and his wife then went to Cebu Pacific Airlines and Tiger Airways Offices and inquired about the purchases using his credit card.

The couple eventually learned from Tiger Airways that a certain Rhea Santiago used his credit card account in purchasing a plane ticket for a flight arriving in Cebu on Sunday night.

After securing a printout of the said ticket, Lagahit reported the matter to the CIDG-7 and the Mactan Airport Security Command, leading to Santiago’s arrest.

Right after the arrest, Santiago revealed that her boyfriend Daniel Eugenio procured the ticket for her.

“Wa man mi kaila niya so kunuhay, so gi-bluff namo. Kunuhay ang wife ni Atty. Lagahit maoy mingsundo niya. Didto amo siyang gidakop, unya ningsunod man ang mag-ama nga supposedly ningtagbo niya, so silang tulo gidakop,” said Bontuyan.

At first, Bontuyan said, the elder Eugenio claimed they only bought the ticket from someone.

“Nadugay ningtug-an siya nga uyab diay sa iyang anak si Jerwin Minglanilla, nga mao’y nag-hack sa credit card ni Atty. Lagahit,” Bontuyan further said.

Bontuyan said he was in the same team that arrested Minglanilla in March last year for the same offense. In fact, the suspect, who is out on bail, has a scheduled court hearing on March 15.

Police tagged Minglanilla, an IT student and dean’s lister of a Cebu university, as a master of hacking credit card numbers.

Bontuyan said they filed a case for violation of the Republic Act 8484 of the Access Device Act against the three suspects yesterday.  The suspects are now detained at the CIDG 7 lock-up cell.

The CIDG operative said they will rearrest Minglanilla, whom they believed is now hiding from authorities following the arrest of Santiago and the Eugenios.  (FREEMAN)