MANILA, Philippines – Naghain ng isang panukalang batas si Senador Win Gatchalian upang magtakda ng mas mabigat na parusa at panagutin ang sinomang money couriers na nanloloko ng indibidwal sa harap ng tumintinding pag-unlad ng social media.
Sa pahayag, sinabi ni Gatchalian na mananagot sa batas ang sinomang money couriers o money mules na lalahok ng mapanglokong financial scheme partikular sa tinatawag na social engineering schemes.
Nakatakda sa Senate Bill 2407 o ang Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act na inihain nitong Agosto 15, sinabi ni Gatchalian na alinsunod ang panukala sa programang pagpapalawak ng digital transactions at kasabay ng pagtatakda ng seguridad sa publiko laban sa panloloko ng scammers at abusadong online lenders.
“We need to protect the integrity of the country’s financial system and ensure that financial accounts and their owners are protected and are not exploited or lured by cybercriminals or criminal syndicates into the commission of an unlawful or fraudulent activity,” aniya.
Naalarma si Gatchalian sa ulat ng Kaspersky Security Network 2022 Report na nagpapakitang pangalawa ang Piipinas sa lahat ng bansa na inaatake ng web threats at gustong atakehin kabilang ang social engineering schemes.
Aniya, pinalakas ng COVID-19 pandemic ang kahalagahan ng cashless transactions at digital payments.
Idinagdag pa niya na dulot ng mabilis na paglago at popularidad ng digital financial services, sumunod ang paglutang ng financial-related cyber crimes.
“Cybercriminals started taking advantage of technologies to transfer illicit or stolen funds across digital financial services, stealing vital information about (the) account holders and taking over their accounts, or enticing account holders with gifts and incentives with the goal of covertly committing financial crimes,” aniya.
Dahil dito, nakita ni Gatchalian na mayroong agarang pangangailangan na maisabatas ang isang panukala na magtatakda ng parusa sa indibidual na pumayag maging daluyan ng illegal na transaksiyon kabilang ang kalahok sa manipulative social engineering tactics at ibapang mapanlokong pamamaraan na sasamahatalahin ang alinamang financial accounts.
“This encompasses actions such as account takeover, recruiting or enlisting others to commit these acts and perpetration of these acts on a significant scale comparable to economic sabotage that jeopardizes the security of Filipinos’ financial accounts and the integrity of the country’s financial system,” paliwanag ng panukala.
“For the past three years, the unsuspecting public lost millions of their hard-earned money to these cybercriminals,” ayon kay Gatchalian.
Inihalimbawa dito ni Gatchalian ang“Mark Nagoyo” scam, na kung saan mahigit 700 BDO Unibank customers’ accounts ang na-hacked nitong 2021; ang unauthorized bank transfers tumarget sa public school teachers na may account sa LandBank accounts nitong enero ng 2022, na kung saan nawalan ang biktima ng PHP26,000 hanggang PHP121,000; at malawakang phishing incident na kinasasangkutan ng GCash users nitong Mayo.
“Operations of cybercriminals grew on a large scale, taking advantage of the unemployed, those who are looking for easy money, those who are unaware, and those who are willing to help others, and thriving in jurisdictions with very weak enforcements and penalties like the Philippines,” aniya. Ernie Reyes
