An extortion ring ran by a couple was foiled by the elements of the Kasurog Regional Anti-Cybercrime Unit 5 (RACU) in Albay on Monday evening.
Partners Patricia Morasa, 19 and Arman DL Sto. Domingo, 19, both from Camarines Sur fell to a dragnet of Cybercops and members of the Pili Municipal Police Station on 1 August 2022 at around 7:50 p.m. after they withdrew the money sent by the victim in a remittance center in Pili, Camarines Sur.
According to officer-in-charge of the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group Brigadier General Bowenn Joey Masauding, the arrest of the duo was the result of investigation and setting up a social media stakeout.
Sting uses socmed
The suspects mimicked an official Facebook (FB) account of a certain school in Naga City and deceived students into remitting enrollment fees through bank transfers, e-Wallet transactions, and other modes of payment.
School officials learned of the racket and immediately sought help from law enforcers who initiated an appropriate anti-cybercrime operation.
It resulted to the arrest of the couple and the confiscation of a unit of black Oppo A55 mobile phone and a P100 bill as evidence.
Charges of violation of Section 4 (b) 2 (Computer-related Identity Theft) of Republic Act (RA) 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012) and Article 315 (Swindling/Estafa) in relation to Section 6 of RA 10175 are being prepared against the suspects.
The suspects are now under the custody of Pili Municipal Police Station for booking procedures prior to the conduct of inquest proceedings.