Ramon was stunned while sitting on the sofa. His hands were shaking while holding the cellphone.
He had just finished the call. A “bank representative” called to secure his account. Because of fear and haste, he gave the OTP. In an instant, he received a notification.
You have successfully transferred PHP 500,000.00.
The money he and his wife had saved for five years. The money set aside for their son Jun-jun’s heart surgery next week.
Everything, a scratch.
His wife Carla came from the kitchen. She was wearing a faded daster, had a bimbo on her back, and her hands smelled of garlic. She looked like a typical housewife who knew nothing but housework.
“Dad, let’s eat,” Carla greeted happily. But she was stunned when she saw Ramon’s pale face. “Why? What happened?”
Ramon sobbed. “Mom… forgive me. I was so stupid. I got scammed. The money for Jun-jun… is gone. It’s all taken.”
Ramon expected Carla to lose her temper. He expected her to pick on him, yell at him, or faint from heartache.
But that wasn’t what happened.
Carla suddenly fell silent. Her gentle face became serious. Her aura lost its “hereditary” quality and was replaced by a cold and sharp gaze.
“What time did it happen?” Carla asked. Calmly. There was no rasp in her voice.
“H-Ha? Just now… about five minutes ago…”
“What number did the call come from? What bank account was it transferred to?”
“It’s in the text… but Ma, there’s nothing we can do! We have to go to the police!”
“The police won’t do anything for an hour, Ramon. By that time, they’ll have withdrawn it or transferred it to ten other accounts,” Carla replied.
Carla turned and entered the room. When she came out, she wasn’t carrying a broom. She was carrying an old black laptop that was thick and full of dust. It had been hidden under the trunk for a long time.
Carla sat down at the table. She opened the laptop.
Powering on…
Carla’s fingers moved quickly. Click. Clack. Click. Clack.
She didn’t open Facebook. A black screen full of green codes appeared.
“M-Ma? What are you doing? Are you computer literate?” Ramon asked in surprise. All he knew was that his wife only used her cellphone to watch Tulfo.
Carla didn’t answer. She was staring at the screen. Her eyes were like lasers scanning data.
“Tracing IP address… Bypassing firewall… Accessing backdoor server…” Carla whispered to herself.
On the other hand, in a condo unit in Quezon City, a group of scammers were having fun.
“Jackpot, guys! Five hundred thousand! Just one click, stupid dad!” shouted their leader Boss Kadyo. They were opening beers and counting money.
Kadyo was holding the laptop to transfer the money to an offshore account so it wouldn’t be recovered.
Suddenly…
ERROR. ACCESS DENIED.
“Huh? What happened?” Kadyo was shocked. “Did the net go down?”
Suddenly the light on their laptop screen went out. When it turned back on, the background was red. A big Skull face appeared on the screen.
Their bank accounts—not just Ramon’s, but also their millions in stolen wealth—suddenly had zero balance.
SYSTEM LOCKDOWN INITIATED.
“Boss! I can’t control the mouse!” a staff member shouted.
“Boss! Our CCTV outside is dead!”
“Boss! Our electronic lock door won’t open! We’re trapped!”
Back at Ramon’s house.
Carla pressed ENTER hard.
“Gotcha,” Carla whispered.
She turned to Ramon, who was gaping.
“I’ve returned the P500,000 to our account, Ramon. All their assets have also been frozen. And I’ve sent their GPS location to Director Santos of the NBI Cybercrime Division.”
“D-Director Santos?” Ramon stammered. “You know the NBI?”
Carla sighed. She closed the laptop.
“Ramon, before I became your wife and Jun-jun’s mother… I was Agent Cipher. I used to be the Head of Cybersecurity of the Intelligence Agency. I retired because I wanted a quiet life. But they messed with my family.”
Carla stood up and adjusted her duster.
“Don’t worry. Our son’s operation is safe.”
On the other side, in the scammers’ hideout, they couldn’t get out. The lights were out. The system was out.
Suddenly… BOOOOGSH!
The NBI Agents broke down the door.
“NBI! NO MOVEMENT! DAPA!”
Boss Kadyo was caught in the act. They were shocked. How were they tracked down so quickly? How was their secure server hacked?
While Kadyo was being handcuffed, the NBI Director approached and looked at the criminals’ laptop. He saw the digital signature left on the screen. A small “Happy Face” logo with a wink.
The Director smiled. “I told you so. The moon is awake again.”
Queen.”
At home, Ramon hugged his wife tightly. He couldn’t believe it. His wife, who he thought was a simple cook and washerwoman, was just a legend who could take down a syndicate using just an old laptop and wifi.
From then on, whenever Carla opened her laptop, Ramon didn’t ask questions. He just made her coffee, because he knew that their family was safe as long as his commander’s hands were on the keyboard.