THE Department of Justice (DOJ) has warned the public against unscrupulous individuals who collect payments from unsuspecting recipients of fake deliveries.
Reports reaching the DOJ-Office of Cybercrime (OOC) said some crooks have taken advantage of the current’s online shopping trend triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic to dupe people.
How? By using the victim’s personal information on previously delivered pouches and/or boxes and then pretending to deliver items to and collect payment from the victim who never ordered such item.
“The DOJ-Office of Cybercrime (OOC) received reports regarding the current modus operandi of perpetrators representing themselves as couriers [who] target victims by delivering and demanding payment for parcels that were allegedly bought online by the latter,” it said.
In order to avoid being victimized, the DOJ-OOC posted on its Facebook page some suggestions for the public to apply in order to protect themselves from such modus operandi.
The DOJ-OOC advised the “to properly dispose pouches and/or boxes of the parcels containing your personal information.”
“Parcels containing personal and sensitive information should be shredded in a crosscut, diamond-cut or confetti-cut manner,” the DOJ-OOC said. “As an alternative, the information on these pouches and/or boxes may also be retracted by covering the same using pens or markers with dark permanent ink.”
They should also refrain from sharing personal information online, especially if their online account is not set in private.
Online users are also advised to check their account with the official online selling platform to verify existing orders for delivery.
If they are not expecting any delivery, they should not receive the parcel or box, and should not pay for the item, according to the DOJ-OOC.
Members of the household should also be warned against accepting parcels without verifying the delivery from the supposed recipient.
“This serves as a stern reminder that perpetrators engaged in such unlawful actions may be held liable either for violation of Section 25 of Republic Act 10173, or the Data Privacy Act of 2012, under the offense ‘Unauthorized Processing of Personal Information and Sensitive Personal Information’ or for estafa under the Revised Penal Code,” the DOJ-OOC added.