REP. Brian Raymund Yamsuan (PL, Bicol Saro) has urged the Senate to act on a counterpart bill seeking to impose stiff penalties against digital financial fraud in the wake of reports on the proliferation of fake bank and e-wallet advisories sent by scammers.
Yamsuan said consumers need to be protected from fraudulent tactics through the passage of the proposed Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA), which the House of Representatives passed last May under House Bill (HB) 7393.
While the House of Representatives has already passed its version of the AFASA, the Senate’s counterpart measure remains pending at the committee level.
“On top of providing a shield of protection to consumers, the AFASA will also help safeguard the integrity of our financial system. We urge the Senate to pass its version of the AFASA to assure the public that they can continue to trust our financial system as we go forth with our inevitable shift to a digital economy,” said Yamsuan, one of the authors of the House measure.
He said scams have become so prevalent that banks need to send messages to their clients through text, emails and even Viber warning them about the modus.
After phishing, in which scammers use fake emails and links to trick potential victims into revealing their personal and financial data, fraudsters have resorted to smishing, or sending bogus text messages, and vishing or making fraudulent calls–both with the same purpose as phishing, the lawmaker said.
The House version provides heavy penalties against online scams perpetrated on a large scale. Under the bill, if the online scam is committed by a syndicate (defined as a group of three or more persons); done on a large scale; or using a mass mailer, such crimes are classified as acts of economic sabotage punishable with life imprisonment and a fine ranging from P1 million to P5 million.
Yamsuan warned that cybercriminals would surely work doubly harder this coming holiday season using fake websites that allow scammers to get hold of the details of their victims’ credit cards or bank accounts.
He also pointed out that since the implementation of the SIM Registration Act, there have been reports of individuals lending or selling their registered SIM cards, e-wallet accounts, and bank accounts to scammers.
Under HB 7393, these seemingly harmless acts of acting as money mules to perpetrate scams are punishable with imprisonment of six months and one day to six years or a fine ranging from P100,000 to P200,000, or both.
Persons perpetrating social engineering schemes, such as phishing, vishing, or smishing, are penalized under the bill with imprisonment of six years and one day to 12 years or a fine of at least P200,000 but not exceeding P500,000, or both.
The maximum penalty shall be imposed if the victims include senior citizens aged 60 years old or above.
E-wallet provider GCash has reported that from January 2022 to June 2023, it has already blocked four million accounts from accessing its platform on suspicion of fraud.
