What began as an offer for a supposed clothing collaboration ended with a woman losing money and her private photos falling into the hands of an alleged cyber extortionist.
The Regional Anti-Cybercrime Unit in Central Visayas (RACU 7) arrested a man after the Regional Trial Court Branch 76 in Naga City, Cebu issued a warrant for his arrest for robbery with intimidation under Article 294 of the Revised Penal Code in relation to Republic Act No. 10175, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
RACU 7 chief Police Colonel Christopher N. Luyun said the case stemmed from a complaint filed by a woman from Naga City who received a message inviting her to collaborate with a clothing apparel brand.
She clicked a link sent through email, which turned out to be part of a phishing scheme.
The victim was then asked to provide her one-time password (OTP) and two-factor authentication credentials, allowing the suspect to gain access to her account.
Luyun said the suspect accessed the victim’s photos and videos, including explicit private images, and later demanded money while threatening to upload and spread the files through Telegram.
The victim sent money to the suspect on three occasions, amounting to P37,000, before realizing she had fallen victim to a scam.
Investigators traced the account that received the payments to a suspect residing in Batasan, Quezon City. RACU 7 subsequently filed a complaint before the Regional Trial Court in Naga City, which later issued a warrant for the suspect’s arrest.
Operatives from the Quezon City Police District arrested the suspect in Metro Manila and turned him over to the issuing court in Naga City. RACU 7 assisted in serving the warrant since it conducted the investigation and filed the complaint.
The court recommended bail of P200,000.
Luyun said investigators also found that the suspect allegedly used fake modeling opportunities to lure young women, gain their trust, and persuade them to provide personal information, including iCloud account credentials.
He allegedly used the information to obtain victims’ private files before extorting money from them.
Authorities are continuing their investigation to determine whether other women were victimized through the same scheme.
Luyun urged the public to be cautious of online offers that appear too good to be true.
“Lagi naming sinasabi na when it is too good to be true, ibig sabihin po pagmalayo sa katotohan kahit pa sabihin nila na kikita tayo nang malaki na pera… wag po tayo basta-bastang maniniwala,” he said.
Comments