CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Three suspected members of an international bank fraud gang were arrested by law enforcers while in the act of stealing money using a skimming device at a BPI Family Bank automated teller machine installed along MacArthhur Highway at Barangay Sindalan here Monday evening.
Police identified the suspects as Marcu Bogdan, 26, an Italian; Petro Loan Uveges, 44, a Romanian; and Radu Minodor Sandor, 43, a Nicaraguan.
Uveges, police said, was also the holder of a Hungarian passport using the name of Balazs Varga. He is apparently married to Michelle Trajano, a Filipina.
It was not mentioned in the police report if the wife of Uveges was involved in the fraudulent transactions.
Police said the suspects are using cloned ATM cards of bona fide BPI account holders which they used to withdraw money.
Seized from them were: the skimming device, 152 assorted cloned ATM cards, cash amounting to PHP 339,362.65; and a white Toyota Wigo subcompact with conduction sticker VQ 8261.
The suspects were booked for processing by San Fernando police for violation of RA 8484 (Access Device Regulation Act) and Section 33 of RA 8792 (E-commerce law).
Several foreign nationals have been arrested in previous years on the similar modus operandi, only to be released from police custody after posting substantial amounts of bail with the courts.
Police said coordination had been made with the Bureau of Immigration (BI) for verification of these suspects’ status and to determine any possible involvement in other unlawful activities during their stay in Pampanga and other areas in Central Luzon.
“The public should be more cautious withdrawing money in the ATM machines. There are several advisories and precautionary measures, as well as safety tips issued by the Bankers Association of the Philippines and commercial banks, that the public may put into use to prevent them from being victims of similar incidents,” the police told reporters.