THE DEPARTMENT of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) warned the public that scams are more prevalent this holiday season, which is why the agency, along with other groups, launched the “Oplan Paskong Sigurado”.
The new campaign is the agency’s cybersecurity and consumer-protection initiative, particularly this Christmas season. DICT said there are more scams this period due to the rise in the use of e-commerce, e-wallets, and the rise in remittances, as well as cash bonuses for many Filipinos.
DICT Secretary Henry Aguda said they want to further raise awareness against cybercrimes through an intensified public information campaign and coordination with various law enforcement agencies. He said there are 12 holiday scams, like love scams, charity scams, and more.
“Karamihan kasi ng scam, 60 to 70 percent Pasko nangyayari. After Thanksgiving andiyan na, tapos hanggang middle ng January,” Aguda said.
He also urged the public to immediately report to Hotline 1326 if they were victimized by scams or may know something about it. Part of the initiative is the real-time detection and mitigation of cyber threats and the activation of the cyberdome strategy or the whole-of-government cyber defense platform.
“BSP [Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas] number almost P6 billion noong 2024 nawala because of cybercrime. Almost P4 billion nangyayari ‘pag Christmas, kaya kami sinisigurado na namin, unahan na natin,” Aguda said on the amount reported loss to scams last year.
The DICT secretary added they are pushing for the end of the 2G and 3G frequencies because these are used by scammers, especially those using IMSI catchers. He said by the end of the year, they are expecting all telecommunication companies to fully sign off 2G and 3G, and will focus on 4G and 5G, which are more secure. (ABS-CBN News)
