350 foreigners nabbed as authorities crack Internet fraud ring

MANILA, Philippines — More than 350 foreigners, mostly Taiwanese and Chinese, were arrested Thursday by agents of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission in what authorities called the “biggest and most resolute operation” against cybercrime.

Among those arrested were the alleged financiers of the Internet fraud ring, Filipino-Chinese Maria Luisa Tan and Johnson Tan Co.

CIDG Director Samuel Pagdilao Jr. said the suspects were arrested during raids on more than 20 homes in subdivisions in Quezon City, Manila, Marikina, Cainta and Antipolo Cities Thursday morning.

CIDG deputy director for operations Senior Superintendent Keith Singian said the suspects would call potential victims in China over the Internet and, posing as Chinese police, tell them their bank accounts were being used to launder money for terrorist activities.

They would then advice their victims to transfer their funds to a “safe account” the fraudsters would provide.

Most of the victims, said Singian, would comply out of fear.

The modus operandi used to be common in China until authorities cracked down in 2010, driving crime rings to move their operations overseas and rely on the Internet to dupe their victims.

On May 27, authorities also arrested 37 Chinese for a similar scam.

All the suspects arrested Thursday were brought to the Police National Training Institute (PNTI) in Camp Vicente Lim, Laguna where cases for violation of the Access Device Act are being readied against them. –Abigail Kwok, InterAksyon.com