Gov't launches info campaign vs. holiday scams

MANILA – Several government agencies on Friday launched the "Holiday Watch PH 2024" information campaign to alert the public about scams that proliferate during the holiday season.

During the campaign's launch at the National Cybercrime Hub in Taguig City, Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) Executive Director Alexander Ramos said cybercriminals see the holiday season as the "perfect opportunity to launch attacks" due to the increase in online shopping and mobile device usage.

"People take a break during holidays but scammers do not," Ramos said.

The information campaign is a partnership among the CICC, Department of Information and Communications Technology, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Transportation (DOTr), National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), Special Action and Intelligence Committee for Transportation, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Scam Watch Pilipinas, and Gogolook.

The campaign showed eight ways to fight the "12 Scams of Christmas," including calling the 1326 hotline for online scam victims, reporting online scams through the eGov Super App, reporting consumer complaints through the same app, and calling 0920-964-DOTr (3687) for commuter complaints.

The campaign also urged Filipinos to use the SEC Check App to verify companies offering investments, check the NTC seal of registration for legitimate commercial websites, download the Whoscall Anti-Scam app for device protection, and follow the four "Kontra Scam Attitudes" by Scam Watch Pilipinas.

Scam Watch Pilipinas lead co-convenor Jocelle De Guzman said the campaign intends to address the low rate of reporting among victims of cybercrime.

A study titled "The State of Scams in the Philippines 2024" by the Global Anti-Scam Alliance showed that Filipinos are reluctant to report to authorities, with about 67 percent of Filipinos not reporting scams.

The Philippines also recorded 3,937,779 scam messages through short message service or text message, and 414,446 scam calls from Aug. 1, 2023 to Aug. 15, 2024.

"We are again expecting an increase in the number of scams this holiday season as more people are going online to buy gifts, clothes, and food for various parties. Scammers take advantage of the season as a way to dupe people into donating to fake charitable projects," De Guzman said. (PNA)