Philippines arrests 42 Taiwanese and two mainland Chinese suspects in alleged online bank scam
42 Taiwanese, two mainland Chinese suspects arrested in raids in central Iloilo province
Forty-two Taiwanese and two mainland Chinese suspects have been arrested in the Philippines over a sophisticated internet scam targeting compatriots back home, police said yesterday.
The arrests were the latest success scored by a Philippine government crackdown with help from Interpol and foreign governments, but they also show how cybercrime groups have continued to flourish in the Philippines.
Now their weapons are computers, wireless phones and devices
In 2012, Philippine police arrested 380 suspected members of a blackmail syndicate, including 291 Taiwanese, 86 mainland Chinese and a New Zealander, in the largest number of single-day arrests in a crackdown on online fraud.
In May, Philippine police officials reported that they had arrested, with Interpol's help, at least 58 Filipino suspects who duped hundreds of victims worldwide into exposing themselves in front of webcams or engaging in lewd chats, including a Scottish teenager who committed suicide after being blackmailed.
"In the past, criminals only used guns," said Senior Superintendent Gilbert Sosa of the national police's Anti-Cybercrime Group. "Now their weapons are computers, wireless phones and all sorts of telecommunications devices.
"It takes time, but we'll get to them with better technology and help from foreign counterparts," he said.
