CYBERCRIME incidents increased by more than 100 percent during the first half of the year compared to the same period last year, authorities said over the weekend.
In a report, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC), an attached agency of the Department of Information and Communications Technology in charge of cybercrime investigation and coordination, said it has recorded 6,250 cybercrime incidents from January to June this year.
CICC’s figures are up by 152 percent compared to the PNP National Capital Region Police Office’s data of 2,477 recorded from January to June 2022.
Online scams topped the list of cybercrimes — from 1,551 incidents from January to June last year to 4,446 incidents during the same period this year, or an increase of 1846.65 percent, followed by illegal access to devices/equipment at 570 incidents to 1,063, up by 86.49 percent.
Credit card/automated teller machine fraud came in next with 625 incidents during the same period this year, from 241 last year, which translates to a 259.33 percent rise
Lt. Col. Jay Guillermo of the NCRPO’s Regional Anti-Cybercrime Unit said cybercrime cases are still expected to increase despite the enactment of the SIM Registration Law due to the “availability of malware on the internet, ease of doing business of both private and government institutions, technological development and careless online users.”
RA 11934 or the SIM Registration Act mandates all SIM card holders to register their prepaid SIM cards before July 25 this year or telcos will cut off a subscriber’s access.
