‘12 scams of Christmas’

This holiday season, beware of falling victim to what have become notoriously called as “12 scams of Christmas.” Anti-cybercrime advocacy group ScamWatch Pilipinas, headed by Jocel de Guzman issued this advisory in the wake of rising incidents of online scams and fraudulent activities. De Guzman warned the public about the rampant and increasing attempts by scammers taking advantage of the Christmas season when people are in holiday mood and spirit of being generous and certainly awash with money.

To get ahead of scam hubs and individuals engaged in such nefarious online frauds, a multi-agency campaign dubbed HolidayWatchPh was launched last Tuesday. The multi-agency campaign is spearheaded by the Department of Information and Technology (DICT), along with the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), Cybercrime Investigating Center (CCIC) and the National Privacy Commission (NPC) and ScamWatch Pilipinas as the private sector partner.

The same public warning was echoed by Assistant Secretary Atty. Amanda Nograles who heads the Consumer Protection Group of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI); Atty. Philip Sawali, Director of the Fair Trade Enforcement of the same agency; and CICC Director Rojun Hosillos. De Guzman along with Nograles, Sawali and Hosillos issued the joint call at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay news forum last Wednesday.

These government agencies have joined forces in a bid to step up the cyber awareness and to educate the public on the latest modus operandi of online fraudsters and scammers, especially during this holiday season.

According to De Guzman, the HolidayWatchPh complements the National Cyber Crime Hub run by the same inter-agency body going after and busting organized cyber crimes syndicates with the help of law enforcement arms of the government. De Guzman explained the National Cyber Crime Hub based at the BGC in Taguig City operates Hotline 1-3-2-6 where the public can directly report and victims can complain against cyber scam and other digital crimes.

Led by the DICT, it is run jointly by representatives from the Commission on Information and Communications (CICT); the NTC; and the NPC.

At the Kapihan sa Manila Bay news forum