Ghana Hacker Who Entered Philippines And Tried To Stay On Missionary Visa Arrested

Ghanaian national suspected to be the mastermind of a West African syndicate that has hacked automated teller machines (ATMs) in the Philippines was arrested Friday, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said.

The arrested hacker was identified as Victor Patrick. The 34-year-old was arrested Oct. 14 by members of the BI and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) at the parking lot of a mall in Bicutan, Fortunato Manahan Jr., the chief of the Immigration Intelligence Division, said in a press statement.

An order to arrest the suspect was issued after local intelligence authorities sent a letter about his illegal activities in the country, Manahan Jr. said.

"The AFP said that Patrick is one of the prime suspects involved in an ATM hacking syndicate. He has been seen to frequent several big banks in Barangay Moonwalk in Parañaque," the immigration officer said.

The sleuths found out that Patrick had been living in the country since April 20, 2019, on a tourist visa. He had also applied for a missionary visa -- petitioned by a Cebu-based company that doesn't exist.

Patrick faces deportation charges for violation of Section 37(a)(9) of the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940, Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said.

"Patrick's visa is deemed void from the start considering that it was obtained by means of fraud," said Tansingco.

Tansingco added that they are on the lookout for possible cohorts and other foreign scammers that might be residing in the country.