(Photo courtesy of ACG)
MANILA – Anti-cybercrime police officers have arrested a 26-year-old man for illegally selling Globe subscriber identity module (SIM) cards with verified e-wallets or GCash accounts in Pasig City.
In a television interview on Wednesday, Lt. Michelle Sabino, spokesperson of the Philippine National Police-Anti Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG) said the suspect Darieuss Renzo Salazar was arrested at a supermarket along Caruncho Avenue on Tuesday afternoon.
Salazar yielded a total of 93 SIM cards with verified GCash accounts.
“It was being sold at PHP420 per piece and PHP370 for bulk sale,” Sabino said.
The operation came after personnel from the Eastern District Anti-Cybercrime Team (EDACT) discovered the illicit activity of the suspect online when he offered the sale of several verified GCash e-Wallet accounts to an undercover cybercop.
An EDACT operative managed to close a deal with the suspect for the sale of 93 pieces of sim cards with verified GCash accounts for PHP370 for each sim card.
Sabino added that they will conduct further investigation as the said SIM cards are usually being used by unscrupulous individuals who are out to defraud people.
“It is usually being used in scams. Scammers are usually the patrons of these,” she added.
Sabino said anybody can have as many GCash accounts, citing the possibility that the said verified accounts may belong to just one person.
However, Sabino warned that an individual whose name was used in scams might get dragged into legal issues.
Salazar is facing charges in violation of Section 4(a)(5) (misuse of devices) of Republic Act (RA) 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012; and Section 9(b) and Section 9(f) of RA 8484 in relation to Section 6 of RA 10175.
The suspect was turned over to the Pasig City police after the conduct of inquest proceedings. (PNA)
