The National Bureau of Investigation is investigating the possibility that information taken from government issued identification cards of Bacolod residents could be used to enable others to assume fake identities or for online financial scams.
They are investigating reports that an alleged Chinese looking female has been offering P400 to Bacolod residents who allow her to take photos of their government issued IDs, NBI Bacolod Executive Officer Jose Gabriel Jr. said on Wednesday, July 24.
Her male companion goes by the name Mark and is a Filipino, Gabriel added.
Gabriel said they were informed that the Chinese looking female who speaks Ilonggo made the offer to tricycle drivers in Barangay Vista Alegre, Bacolod.
She reportedly told the drivers that the information from their licenses and government IDs would be used to open GCash accounts for them, Gabriel said.
There is a possibility that the GCash accounts under the names of the persons who sold their ID information could be used for online scams, Gabriel said.
Scam victims could be asked to send money to those GCash accounts, he said.
Just like the process by which Bamban Mayor Alice Guo was able to secure a birth certificate, the information taken from the identification cards could also be used for late registration of live births, Gabriel said.
This would allow another person to register under the name of the ID owner, he said.
The information can be used if the ID owner is not registered in the local civil registrar’s office, Gabriel said.
However, Gabriel said a person cannot be charged for taking pictures of ID cards as it is not a criminal act, unless they can prove that it is used for illegal purposes.
Fr. Chris Gonzales, Triumph of the Holy Cross parish priest in Barangay Estefania, said earlier that he was informed that IDs were being purchased from residents living behind the Palm Haven cemetery by persons who appeared to be Chinese nationals for P300 to P400.
Gonzales said he reported the incident to the police and Estefania Barangay Captain Gerry Tingson as the sale of government issued identification cards could be a threat to national security.
Capt. Francis Depasucat, Bacolod Police Station 4 chief, said the person they invited in for questioning in June was a Chinese-Filipino female who has a stall at a Bacolod mall.
However, they could not detain her as they were no complainants who came forward, he said.
The woman is a Filipino national who speaks Ilonggo and Tagalog, Depasucat said.
The woman alleged that they were just registering residents so they could avail of GCash accounts.
Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said the security features of national IDs should be strengthened so they cannot be used for scams.*