MORE than P155 million were lost from victims of more than 8,000 reported cases of various online scams from January to August this year, the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group yesterday told senators.
Brig. Gen. Sydney Hernia, PNP-ACG director, said authorities have received 8,609 complaints from online fraud like online selling, investments scams, calls, employments, loan packages, accommodation, and love scams, among other online scams.
Hernia said the syndicates milked some P155,204,358 from the victims.
During the Senate Committee on Banks hearing in relation to online scams, Hernia said online selling scams top the list with 1,615 complaints involving P68,864,263; followed by investment scams with 911 complaints with P5.988 million lost; followed by ATM phishing with 821 complaints which involved P3,193,209 in losses.
The other forms of fraud involved “call scam” with 635 complaints, P6,876,388 lost; employment scams at 606 complaints, P4.9 million lost; loan scams with 562 complaints, P9.395 million lost; package scams with 533 complaints, P20.9 million lost; profile theft with 358 complaints, P9.58 million lost; accommodation scam with 302 complaints, P5.988 million lost; and love scam with 266 complaints, P19.4 million lost.
Platforms usually used were social media sites, payment apps, messaging and selling apps, and bogus websites.
Sen. Mark Villar, committee chairman, said the number of phishing attacks in the country during the first half of 2022 already surpassed the number of attacks for the whole year of 2021.
In 2021, he said there were 1.34 million reported phishing attacks, while there were more than 1.8 million reported in the first half of 2022.
“Because of the lack of a regulatory framework that penalizes these scammers, there are and there will be more victims in the foreseeable future. Even as we speak, there are individuals being victimized by these scammers who seize every vulnerable opportunity available to them. We cannot watch from the sidelines as scammers take advantage of our people,” Villar said.
He said that cases of online fraud endanger the public’s trust in financial institutions.
To address the issue, he said the enactment of the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA) would strengthen the public’s trust in banks and financial institutions.
