Man pretending to be Abalos in voice phishing scam arrested

A man who allegedly scammed at least four government officials by pretending to be Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. was arrested by authorities.

In a press conference on Tuesday, Abalos said the suspect managed to con several governors and mayors by claiming to be a “Larry Abalos” who was a  “DILG chief of staff”. The suspect also mimicked Abalos' voice to deceive his victims who he would then ask for money.

““May tumatawag na nagpapanggap na ako raw siya, pati ‘yung boses ko kamukhang-kamukha. Maraming pera, maraming naloko,” said Abalos.

(Someone has been calling people and pretending to be me, he imitated my voice perfectly. There was a lot of money and a lot of victims.)

During the call, the suspect would mimic the voice of the Interior Secretary and introduce himselfunder the fake persona and position. After the voice phishing, he would continue the conversation via text messaging.

“Ito yung nagpapanggap na Larry Abalos. Wag kayong magpapaloko sa mga cell phones. Biro mo ang lakas ng loob, mga mayor, mga gobernador ang tinatawagan nito,” he added.

(This is the person pretending to be Larry Abalos. Don't be fooled via cell phones. Imagine he had the nerve to call mayors and governors.)

The suspect managed to steal P150,000 from his victims. He was apprehended in Lingayen, Pangasinan last Thursday, December 7, 2023.

He has now been charged with identity theft, spoofing, estafa and violating the Anti-Cybercrime Law.

Authorities said they are still trying to track down the other suspects involved in the scam.
—RF, GMA Integrated News