On July 22, 2025, at about 1:40 PM in Batangas, operatives of the Regional Anti-Cybercrime Unit (RACU) Cordillera Administrative Region of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) arrested a 31-year-old woman, alias “Aya,” pursuant to a warrant of arrest for a voice phishing scam.

The warrant of arrest steamed from the complaint filed by a 51-year-old businesswoman at RACU 2 about the fraudulent scheme of the suspect. According to the victim, she received a phone call from the suspect, who pretended to be a bank representative, claiming that her bank account had accumulated reward points convertible into cash.

Deceived by the convincing pretense, the victim was persuaded to provide her mobile banking login credentials and one-time password (OTP) to assist with the supposed conversion of points. The suspect then used the obtained information to illegally access her bank account, resulting in the unauthorized withdrawal of Php119,000.00.

“Aya” is facing separate charges for violations of Section 4(b)2 (Computer-Related Fraud) of RA No. 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012) and RA No. 8484 (Access Devices Regulation Act of 1998), with bail set at Php72,000.00 and Php60,000.00, respectively.

The operation aligns with the directive of Police General Nicolas D. Torre III, Chief of the PNP, to strengthen both proactive and reactive actions against cybercrime to ensure public safety in the cyber environment.

Police Brigadier General Bernard R. Yang, the Acting Director of the PNP ACG, commended RACU 2 and CAR for their combined efforts, in investigating the case and arresting the suspect. “We encourage all victims of cybercrimes to immediately proceed to any of our offices nationwide so that cybercriminals will be sanctioned and held accountable,” he said.