Bulgarian man who hacked Bill Gates undergoes inquest for ATM cloning

A Bulgarian national who allegedly hacked the account of the world's richest man Bill Gates faced inquest proceedings on Friday for withdrawing money with fake ATM cards.

 

In an interview with reporters on Friday, Police Supt. Milo Bella Pagtalunan, chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group's Anti-Fraud and Commercial Crime Unit, said Konstantin Simeonov Kavrakov was charged for violating the Access Device Regulations Act for using and producing counterfeit access devices. 

 

Kavrakov was arrested in an entrapment operation in Quezon City on Thursday, Pagtalunan said.

 

Kavrakov was jailed in Paraguay in 2011, but was found to have moved to the Philippines late in 2012 or early 2013, he added.

 

According to Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission Executive Director Reginald Villasanta, the suspect was caught at the PS Bank branch at the corner of Scout Reyes Street in Barangay Paligsahan, Q.C. while he was withdrawing using counterfeit ATM cards around 9 p.m.

 

Recovered from the suspect were nine PS Bank Quezon Avenue ATM branch receipts and P76,570 in different denominations that he withdrew from the bank’s ATM.

 

Also recovered were assorted credit cards including a Citi Visa, Standard Chartered MasterCard, Citibank MasterCard, Citi MasterCard, Citibank Visa, Eastwest Bank Vice and a blank Gold card.

 

The operation was launched by joint PAOCC and PNP CIDG elements following a tip from their foreign counterparts.

 

He is currently detained at the office of the CIDG's Anti-Fraud and Commercial Crime Unit.

 

Kavrakov's arrest came after Gates reportedly visited the International Rice Research Institute in Los Baños, Laguna on Wednesday.

 

Bureau of Immigration records show that a certain William Henry Gates has been in the country since April 4. — JDS, GMA News