DICT warns public vs Christmas online scams

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) on Thursday, Dec. 21 issued a warning to the public about Christmas-related online scams.

“It’s natural for us Filipinos to be generous during this Christmas season. It’s not really a fault. What’s important is that we become observant and discerning in our actions,” DICT Assistant Secretary and Spokesperson Renato Paraiso said in a televised interview with PTV.

Paraiso emphasized the presence of scam websites and paid advertisements designed to deceive potential victims by leading them to sites that pretend to be legitimate shopping platforms.

“So only buy from authorized and trusted platforms. I’ll be plugging some websites, you know, like Shopee, Lazada, and other marketing websites that we trust,” he said.

In addition, Paraiso cited examples of scam tactics used by scammers, such as asking people to click on a link that requests their personal information.

“Please avoid trying it because that would be a—because their come-on is if you enter information, you would get discounts, you would receive packages, let’s try not to entertain these sites anymore,” he explained.

War vs cyber culprits

Paraiso said the DICT continues to coordinate with various government agencies, especially law enforcement agencies, particularly the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), through the Department of Justice (DOJ) to stop online scams.

“We already have many leads and identified individuals, but it’s still an ongoing investigation,” Paraiso said.

“That’s why we keep our cards close to our chest to completely eradicate, not just block the sites or numbers, but also to prosecute the people behind these scams,” he added.

12 ‘scams’ of Christmas

In addition, Paraiso mentioned the government’s initiative to combat scams during the Christmas season by reminding the public of various tactics commonly employed by scammers.

“On the part of the government, particularly with the DICT, we released a warning,” he said.

“We call it the 12 scams of Christmas. We are cautioning our fellow citizens. It’s really a concept of re-educating our people,” he added.

The measure aims to re-educate Filipinos, as many of them are not yet fully accustomed or educated in terms of digitalization and the ‘Internet of Things.’

“Another thing is, again, it’s a large industry. We acknowledge that there are many opportunists entering the industry to deceive our fellow citizens,’ he said.

According to the DICT Spokesperson, the online scam industry in Asia alone is valued at three trillion dollars.

“So we really expect that many would want to enter that industry,” Paraiso explained.

“The DICT continues its program of raising awareness, training our fellow citizens, issuing warnings, and taking steps to avoid scams,” Paraiso added.

Furthermore, the Assistant Secretary offered advice to the public on how to avoid cyberattacks on personal accounts.

“Adopt strong passwords, meaning, make them somewhat complicated, and please avoid using personal information because that’s what hackers use when they hack—trying to get your information to try to access your passwords,” he said.

“So, try to mix it up every three to six months. Adopt strong passwords and adopt multi-factor authentication,” he added.

Moreover, he reiterated the importance of avoiding clicking on suspicious links, as these links often lead to websites used for phishing or, more dangerously, to extract money.