GCASH, the country’s leading mobile wallet, has stepped up its support to the government’s campaign against online scammers by helping arrest a bogus online seller recently and blocking over 900,000 accounts believed involved in fraud in partnership with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and Philippine National Police (PNP).
The mobile wallet preferred by most consumers has also inked a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and has helped arrest top online scammers
The suspects and the fishy accounts are believed behind anomalous transactions consummated by the suspects with their victims on social media and digital storefronts.
Thanks to its collaboration with the Cyber Response Unit and the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG), GCash again aided top law enforcement authorities in tracking down and arresting a fake FB online seller who stole the victim’s money after failing to deliver the purchased item.
The complainant said she tried to buy an iPhone from the suspect, Rachelle Luzon, 21, from Caloocan City.
The suspect sent her identification card including her parent’s IDs to gain the victim’s trust.
Convinced that the suspect was a legitimate online seller, the victim sent P4,500 as an initial payment for the iPhone, which never arrived.
The victim reported the incident to the authorities and informed the investigators that, to entrap the suspect, she used the Facebook account of her friend to purchase an iPhone from the suspect, who agreed to a meet-up.
The suspect was caught in the entrapment operation by the Cyber Response Unit and the PNP-ACG, with marked money amounting to P5,000 inside a restaurant in SM Novaliches, Quezon City.
Luzon is facing charges for violating Article 315 or swindling/estafa under the Revised Penal Code in relation to the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 Section 6 of Republic Act 10175.
GCash also continues to urge and remind Filipinos be more vigilant and cautions as online scams continue to increase.
The top mobile wallet reminded customers to always check the payment terms of the seller, and when possible, transact with those that give the option to pay after the product or service is rendered.
For added security and safety, GCash told customers to always ask the seller for their contact details and demand for an official or acknowledgment receipt for proof of transaction.
For help and assistance, contact the PNP-ACG via their hotlines at (02) 8414-1560, 0998-598-8116, or via email at acg@pnp.gov.ph.
To report scams and fraudulent activities, visit the official GCash Help Center at help.gcash.com/hc/en-us or message Gigi on the website and type, “I want to report a scam.”
GCash will never send users personal messages to address concerns or get personal information, especially the MPIN and One-time Pin (OTP).
Customers can also reach out to the official GCash hotline 2882 for queries and other concerns.
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