Joy Adalia
Bulgarian national Konstantin Simeonov Kavrakov was one of the best hackers in the world, stealing thousands of dollars from the bank accounts of even prominent people like Bill Gates, yet the Philippine National Police (PNP) proved to be his downfall.
With a bag already containing cash amounting to over P76,000, a blank credit card, a mobile phone, several credit cards with different names, and 9 PS Bank Quezon Avenue ATM receipts, Kavrakov was caught while trying to withdraw money at a PS Bank ATM machine along Quezon Avenue in Quezon City.
These are, however, just small change compared with the thousands of dollars he stole from people across the world. Called the “King of Hackers”, he was caught with US$90,000 (Php4,014,720) in cash when he was arrested in Paraguay. However, it was not clear why he was able to get out of prison and is now in the Philippines.
Right now, Kavrakov is in the custody of the PNP. He was nabbed by the joint forces of PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC). The PAOCC is involved in the case as Kavrakov is believed to be working with the “Super Hacker Bulgarian Group” since 2004. This group is believed to be the ones responsible for the spate of ATM skimmings across Metro Manila and neighboring areas.
Also see: Man Discovers Tampered BPI ATM, Posts Find on Facebook to Warn Netizens
It was a good thing Kavrakov has been caught. Let’s just hope the rest of the Super Hacker Bulgarian Group is caught, too. After all, we, ordinary citizens, could easily fall victims to these fraudsters as they were even able to steal from Bill Gates!
