NBI 7 steps in, says ATM skim devices now upgraded
AS more depositors fall victims to automated teller machine (ATM) skimmers, the Land Bank of the Philippines is scheduled to replace the current “magnetic strip” ATM cards with ones embedded with a micro chip.
The magnetic strip cards have become prone to skimming, says Manny Infante, LBP first vice president of Eastern and Central Visayas. LBP has recorded complaints of unauthorized cash withdrawals from 50 depositors of its Banilad branch.
Anticipating the card upgrade, the skimmers have also been working double time to fleece money from clueless depositors by likewise upgrading their devices and skills, Infante says. Skimming devices have become thinner, making them more difficult to detect.
Before the ATM skimming gets sophisticated, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) 7 has stepped in. NBI 7 is seeking the cooperation of banks in its investigation, starting with giving NBI access to footage of their closed-circuit television (CCTV) and documents that will help public investigators identify andgo after the ATM skimmers.
The ATM skimmers know no boundaries. Policemen, teachers, public officials, and even judges have lost money to ATM skimming.
The syndicate behind the Automated Teller Machine (ATM) skimming operation reportedly took advantage of the depositors’ convenience in using their cards to withdraw from different banks to harvest their money, said an NBI 7 official.
Special Investigator Florante Gaoiran of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Central Visayas said that since the banks’ systems are interconnected with each other, it has become easy for skimmers to access and steal thousands of cash.
“They harvest the account holders’ data in the LandBank and probably use it to withdraw the cash from other banks to hide their tracks,” he said.
Gaoiran said that skimmers upgraded their modus by using thin devices unlike the ones they used before. He said that the agency has not yet considered the inside job as among the angles in the series of incidents.
“Not for now, but it depends on the development of the investigation later,” he said in a text sent to SunStar Cebu.
He said that the investigation will focus on finding out the extent of the syndicate’s network, the timeline of the incidents and the total amount taken.
Gaoiran encouraged other banks to check their machines as similar unauthorized withdrawals might have also been done.
In the case of LandBank, two sophisticated skimming devices were found to have been inserted in the card reader and pinpad to copy and harvest the data at the bank’s Banilad, Mandaue branch.
LandBank of the Philippines First Vice President of Eastern and Central Visayas, Manny Infante earlier said that they recorded 50 depositors whose account were compromised in the Banilad branch.
He said that the bank is doing its best to apprehend the skimmers, and to refund the money to their depositors.
Infante advised the public to keep the receipts of their transactions. In instances that skimming incidents happened, the bank may be able to trace their latest and legitimate withdrawals.
The property custodian of Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency ( PDEA)-Central Visayas and his daughter also lost their salaries deposited in their LandBank accounts to unauthorized withdrawals.
Alan Veloso said he lost P5,000, which he intended to use for the laboratory examination of his wife, who has diabetes. His daughter Charm, secretary of PDEA-Central Visayas Director Yogi Filemon Ruiz, lost P8,000.
Veloso said he often withdrew his salary in LandBank’s Banilad, Cebu City branch. He learned that only P20 was left in his account last Saturday, after he tried to withdraw money from the bank’s Plaza Independencia branch.
Cebu City Police Office Director Joel Doria said that eight more police officers have fallen victims to skimming. All of them are from Talamban Police Station.
Doria said the city police force is having a hard time assisting the bank with the investigation as a court order is needed for the bank to be able to release a footage, which captured the skimmers.
Doria called on the Cebu City legislators to draft an ordinance that will require all establishments with security cameras to furnish the police footage that will be used solely for investigation purposes.
At least 50 government employees, including those in the law enforcement, fell prey to skimming. A retired judge was also among the victims.
The stolen money from ATMs ranged from P8,000 up to P100,000. /