Scammers are everywhere, waiting for the best opportunity to defraud you of your money. What can Filipinos do to keep their funds safe?
At the Dodge the Digital Pickpockets webinar held November 5, experts agreed: cybersecurity is a two-way equation. Banking institutions and the government are working hard to stop scammers and fraudsters. But consumers must also do their part.
“Half of the equation is still on the client,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) Chief Information Security Officer Carlos Tengkiat said.
Tengkiat explained that while RCBC invests in cybersecurity tools, it is also the customers’ responsibility to keep themselves safe from scrupulous online scams and schemes. “The customers have to be updated. They have to do safe banking. They shouldn’t download files from dubious sites. They shouldn’t go to dubious websites,” he stressed.
As part of RCBC’s 2024 Cybersecurity literacy program, the webinar aims to help Filipinos level up their online banking safety by providing them with tips and tricks from experts on how to outsmart online scammers and secure their hard-earned cash.
‘Scammers are gonna scam’
Arniel Ong, president and chief executive officer of RCBC Credit Card, said that according to the 2024 State of Scams in the Philippines report by the Global Anti-Scam Alliance, Filipinos have faced more scams in the past 12 months, signaling an upward trend in fraudulent activities. Scams have become more sophisticated, making it hard to identify whether the promos or messages are legitimate or fraudulent.
“Filipinos fall for attractive offers with many victims admitting uncertainty about the legitimacy of the offers but take the risk nonetheless,” Ong added.
Financial wellness influencer Charm de Leon said that the nature of her job exposes her to a lot of fraud attempts—particularly identity fraud and phishing, a kind of scam that uses manipulative means to deceive people into providing sensitive information. “Scammers are gonna scam. They’ve made a career out of it. They’re not gonna stop. We should equip ourselves with knowledge on how to avoid getting scammed,” de Leon said.
Col. Jay Guillermo, CChief of the Cyber Response Unit of the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group, said Filipinos must be vigilant when doing online transactions as scammers are always on the lookout to steal personal information. This would lead to theft, as sensitive information can give them access to your online accounts—including bank accounts, if one is not careful.
Tengkiat also said: “Most of the information, they can use to gain your trust and to tricking you into performing a certain action that would allow them to defraud you.”
“They ask questions about your personal information. But sometimes, we are lulled into a sense of security because it appears from a valid source. You have to apply the same amount of care even if the communication appears to come from a valid source,” he further explained.
Drexx Laggui, highly technical consultant for the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), said Filipinos should practice “due diligence” to avoid being a victim. Filipinos should make it a practice to call their bank or visit their bank’s official website (and not click links sent via SMS or email) to double-check deals or security-related announcements.
Report, don’t panic
Filipinos who suspect they have been victimized by fraudsters or whose accounts are compromised should report the incident immediately to their respective banks to mitigate the damage.
“Don’t panic. Call the bank,” Tengkiat said, adding that victims should not try to “investigate” the case on their own prior to reporting the crime. Ask the bank to immediately freeze their account. “The bank has a direct effect on how they can get your money. So if you freeze your account, they can’t do anything.”
Guillermo agreed that victims should inform their banks about the crime. But they should also report the incident to the Cyber Response Unit of the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group. “It is imperative that the victims report the incident. That is the time when we can investigate” he explained.
Laggui said victims should gather evidence of the crime to help the investigation. He also responded reporting fraud incidents to the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group and hacking incidents to the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center.
Victims of cyber fraud should also call the Inter-Agency Response Center (I-ARC) Hotline 1326 and those who just received text scams can report the numbers to the eGov App eReport feature
