The Department of Justice-Office of Cybercrime on Wednesday warned the public against online attacks perpetrated through email, text or phone calls.
This prompted the office to issue an advisory due to increasing reports from the public involving “phishing” electronic mails, “vishing” or voice phone/calls, and “smishing” or SMS/text attack in relation to online banking.
“The objective thereof is to lure individuals into providing sensitive data such as personally identifiable information, banking and credit card details and usernames and passwords,” the advisory states.
Meanwhile, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has warned the public on Wednesday to beware of online sellers advertising “brilliant” uncirculated 20-piso coins for sale.
In a statement to reporters, the BSP clarified that it “has not issued brilliant uncirculated 20-Piso coins.”
The 20-piso New Generation Currency circulation coins were released to the public beginning December 2019. As of end-August 2020, 2.09 million pieces of 20-piso NGC coins amounting to P41.85 million are in circulation.
“These 20-piso NGC coins are legal tender and may be used as payment for goods and services at face value,” BSP said.
Also, as Filipinos shift to online transactions on a massive scale due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Makati City Rep. Luis Campos Jr. on Wednesday sought a bigger war chest to build up the government’s defenses against what he called “a looming tsunami of heightened cybercriminal activity.”
“The P167-million cyber-heist on state-owned United Coconut Planters Bank may well be just the tip of the iceberg of financial crimes via computer hacking that we might see as government, corporations and individuals embrace digital transformation,” Campos warned.
The San Antonio, Texas-based business consulting firm Frost & Sullivan had indicated that the Philippines could be incurring up to $3.5 billion (P168 billion) in economic losses every year as a result of cybersecurity threats, he said.
The DOJ-OOC stressed that phishing, vishing and smishing are forms of cybercrimes in which the perpetrator posing as a legitimate institution such as a bank, online payment site, or an online commerce site, devises a message through electronic mail, phone call or text messages respectively.
Once such sensitive information is obtained from the victim, the perpetrator will access the victim’s account to perform illegal transactions, it added.
According to the DOJ-OOC, the increase in online attacks corresponded with the increase in Internet usage as people stay at home due to the restrictions imposed by the authorities to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
The release of the 20-piso coin last year made it the highest denomination in the NGC coin series. BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno earlier said the coin was more cost-efficient to produce as it would have a longer circulation life of 10 to 15 years compared to the banknote’s three to six months.
The carelessness of Filipinos in handling their money, sometimes, prompted the BSP to produce the 20-piso coins, he said.
Diokno said the production cost per piece of the 20-piso coin is P10, higher compared to the P2 per 20-piso banknote.
A study conducted by the University of the Philippines showed that the 20-piso banknote is the most widely used denomination for payments across the country. As a result, it is easily rendered unfit for circulation in just a few months and returned to the BSP for replacement.
Campos is seeking up to P3.2 billion in new appropriations to reinforce the government’s Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) with powerful new capabilities, including:
· P1.4 billion for an Intelligence and Investigation Data Fusion Center;
· P500 million for a Digital Forensics and Evidence Management System;
· P204 million for a Cybercrime Threat Operations Center; and
· P302 million for a Cyber Special Investigation and Response Unit.
“We need a large data fusion center where front-line law enforcement can quickly gather, share and analyze information from vast computer networks and communications systems, and then produce actionable intelligence against cybercriminals,” Campos said.
“The fusion center will enable the CICC to swiftly detect cyberattacks and identify threat actors. The P3.2 billion is a practical investment meant to prevent the country from incurring far bigger economic losses due to cybersecurity threats,” Campos said.
To avoid becoming victims of online criminals, the DOJ-OOC reminded the public to be aware of the “red flags” or telltale signs of phishing, vishing and smishing such as those asking for personal information, badly written emails or text messages, hidden and masked website address or emails that come from unknown or slightly different emails than usual.
“Banks, other financial institutions and reputable online shops will never ask for personal information from their clients by email, text message or phone calls. Any request for personal information by email, text message or phone call that claims to be from a legitimate and reputable source, is most likely a scam,” it added.
To ensure that one will not fall prey to online scammers, the DOJ-OOC advised the public to ignore any suspicious emails, text messages or phone calls, never reveal sensitive, personal information to anyone, even one-time password, and do not transact online in shared computers.
Likewise, it said it would be better to download and use only the official apps of your banks and to use multi-factor authentication for accounts.
The DOJ-OOC also advised to install security software in computer you are using, update the mobile phone apps and check the website address providing official websites of major banks.
Most of all, it said that anyone who are victim of online scams should immediately report the incident to the NBI-Cybercrime Division and the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group for immediate response.
Last July, the DOJ said the three most prevalent online crimes in the country are phishing, online selling scam and proliferation of misinformation that tends to cause panic among the public.
The first two crimes are punishable under Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 while misinformation is punishable under RA 11649 or the Bayanihan We Heal As One Act which was passed as part of the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.