1 nabbed for using cloned credit cards

MANILA, Philippines – A man was arrested for using cloned credit cards to make purchases at a shopping mall in Manila recently, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said yesterday.

NBI Director Magtanggol Gatdula identified the arrested suspect as Kelvin Barrenechea, 23, a resident of Sta. Escolastica street in Pasay City. His alleged accomplice, Victoria Ingel, escaped.

In a statement, NBI criminal intelligence division chief Romy Bon Huy Lim said that last Nov. 16, the two suspects allegedly purchased some items at an appliance store at a mall along Harrison street worth around P135,000.

Store employees discovered the credit cards the suspects used were fake, and mall security guards arrested Barrenechea. Ingel escaped with the items they purchased, officials said.

The NBI said the two had been purchasing items from the appliance store since Nov. 13 and they were able to defraud the store of P368,000 worth of goods.

The NBI said the two suspects reportedly belong to a syndicate that clones existing or active credit cards then reprograms stolen or lost credit cards in such a way that the items purchased are debited to the holders of the active credit cards.

The NBI said this fraud could have been easily detected because the number of the cloned credit card does not match the credit card number that comes out in the print-out receipt.

The NBI said the credit card number on the receipt is that of the active or existing credit card.