Dear Atty. Angela,

I used my credit card to pay when I filled up gas. I gave my card to the gasoline boy who went to the cashier station and it took a while before he went back. When I asked, he said that he was just attending to other customers. A day after, I was receiving prompts of several online transaction charges which I did not make. What should I do and what is the crime was committed?

Vince

Dear Vince,

Firstly, immediately call your bank to block or freeze your credit card, report the fraud, and request for a new card. Review all transactions, dispute unauthorized charges, and file a police report to document the crime.

Due to emerging cases of unauthorized access on personal accounts or credit card holders, Republic Act (RA) 8484, otherwise known as “Access Devices Regulation Act of 1998,” as amended by Republic Act 11449 in 2019, was passed to protect people against unlawful access.

Section 9 (q) of Republic Act 8484 as amended by RA 11449, makes illegal skimming, copying or counterfeiting any credit card, payment card or debit card, and obtaining any information therein with the intent of accessing the account and operating the same whether or not cash is withdrawn or monetary injury is caused by a perpetrator against the account holder or the depositary bank.

Also, Section 9 (s) makes it illegal to access, with or without authority, any application, online banking account, credit card account, ATM account, debit card account, in a fraudulent manner, regardless of whether or not it will result in monetary loss to the account holder.

Under Section 10 (d), the fraudulent act is punishable by imprisonment for not less than six years and not more than 10 years and a fine of P500,000 or twice the value obtained by the offender, whichever is higher, without prejudice to the civil liability of the offender.

If you will be able to prove that the gasoline boy was the one who made the fraudulent transaction, he may face criminal charges and penalties as discussed above. Skimmers and hackers get more inventive so it is important to be extra vigilance to protect your accounts and avoid information theft.

Atty. Angela Antonio