Call center agent nabbed for identity theft

MANILA, Philippines - A call center agent was arrested by National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for allegedly putting up a fake Facebook account, using the photos of a Fil-Norwegian model, to fool an Australian man into sending her money, an official said yesterday.

Louella Tan faces charges of estafa, violation of the e-commerce law and illegal use of an alias.

In a phone interview with The STAR, Palmer Mallari, chief of the NBI’s Technical Investigation Division (TID), advised Facebook members to utilize the site’s privacy settings to prevent cases of identity theft.

He asked the public not to put up photos, birthdates, and other personal information.

Mallari said they have filed charges against Tan before the Manila prosecutor’s office.

According to the NBI, Tan used the name “Jen Matheson” and Janka Cederstam’s photos to create a Facebook account. Cederstam received a call from an Australian man who claimed he met Matheson through Facebook, and that they often chatted online until Matheson became his girlfriend.

The Australian man, whose identity was not revealed, said the suspect convinced him to send her money by claiming there is no one to support her financially since both her parents are dead.

Mallari said Cederstam and her mother had gone to the NBI and filed a complaint in order to track down the suspect and arrest her.

It took a few weeks to track down the suspect, who was caught when she collected the money sent to her through a remittance center. 

Tan said she was able to get Cederstam’s personal information through Facebook.