A Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) in Pasay City was raided for online frauds and found 28,000 pre-registered SIM cards with verified e-wallet accounts.
The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) retrieved some SIM cards from garbage cans after an informant tip. They found SIM cards in rubbish cans. Executive Director Gilberto Cruz said that it looks like the scammers are just waiting for the appropriate time to dispose the SIMs.
Cruz questions why kidnappers and online fraudsters can utilize pre-registered SIM cards and can even run illicit online games with it.
ALSO: Nearly ₱7M, 24,000 SIMs Confiscated in Pogo Hub
The PAOCC Executive Director Gilberto Cruz wonders how to reduce internet crimes if these types of SIMs are distributed.
A digital forensic assessment of the SIM cards revealed verified e-wallet accounts with PHP100,000 to PHP500,000.
All of the money they have gotten by tricking people goes to a SIM card with an e-wallet on it. The least you can pay is PHP100,000, and the most you can pay is PHP500,000. They will send the money to a cell phone, which will gather it all and send it to a digital site in another country.
In addition to the SIM cards, the POGO hub also had papers with the account names, amounts, and passwords for the e-wallet accounts.
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