MANILA – A national cybersecurity movement on Monday lauded the signing of Republic Act (RA) 12010 or the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA), a legislation seen to combat surges in crimes, involving online scams.
Scam Watch Pilipinas through its co-founder Jocel De Guzman urged implementing agencies, led by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), to include provisions in the Implementing Rules and Regulation (IRR) that establish channels for victims of social engineering scams to appeal to banks, e-wallets, and financial institutions for reimbursement if proven in the investigation.
The group said RA 12010 is critical, as many social engineering victims feel helpless when coerced into sharing personal information like one-time passwords (OTPs).
"This often leads banks, e-wallets, and financial institutions to accept the transactions as legitimate, given that OTPs verify their authenticity. This situation underscores the need for stronger consumer protection measures and clear guidelines, beyond mere awareness campaigns," the group said in a statement.
A recent study showed that 82 percent of Filipinos have received unsolicited text messages, e-mails, phone calls or which were potentially part of a scam.
Over half of the respondents said their friends or relatives had been affected while only 26 percent reported incidents resulting in actual or suspected losses to their banks.
On July 20, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. signed the law which, he said, “is essential in this time as cybercriminals use technology to defraud fellow Filipinos, causing not only personal economic loss through them but also a loss of trust in financial institutions.”
The law authorizes the BSP to investigate cases and apply for “cybercrime warrants and orders” with respect to electronic communications used in any violation of the law.
It also gives the BSP limited authority to examine and investigate bank accounts, e-wallets, and other financial accounts involved in the prohibited acts. (PNA)
