MANILA - Philippine authorities warned Monday credit card owners of the resurgence of activities of credit fraud syndicates as the Christmas season nears.

Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Anti-Fraud and Commercial Crime Division (AFCCD) chief Benjamin Acorda said several groups engaged in credit card fraud that are listed in the watch list of the CIDG and the Credit Card Association of the Philippines (CCAP) have become active again in Metro Manila and other nearby provinces.

He specifically warned credit card owners of the modus operandi of credit card fraud syndicates that use skimming access devices which they have acquired easily because they are being sold in the internet.

"These devices, which they have distributed to some unscrupulous cashiers in different malls, gasoline stations and supermarkets, even installed in ATM machines, are capable of stealing account information of unsuspecting credit card owners, which are then used to clone credit cards," Acorda said.

He described the skimming access device as small and handy that some unsuspecting victims barely notice that their card is swiped into it by cashiers who are in cahoots with the syndicate.

Acorda also cautioned the public in filling up information forms via the internet when doing online purchase using their credit cards and from photo copying their credit card, as it can be used to clone their cards.

Since January this year, the CIDG AFCCD has arrested eight persons in entrapment operations and has filed five anti-fraud charges against the suspects.