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Friday, March 29, 2024

NBI pressed to move vs Holiday Season online bank fraudsters

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A CONSUMER group is asking the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to go after online syndicates who are expected to take advantage of the Holiday Season to commit massive fraud that targets bank accounts of Filipino employees.

In a letter to NBI Director Medardo de Lemos,  Action for Consumerism and Transparency For National Building (ACTNB) Secretary General Jake Silo expressed alarm over media reports that international bank fraud syndicates are expected to conduct their illegal activities in a massive scale as millions of Filipinos begin receiving their 13th  month pay and bonuses.

At the same time, the group noted that more overseas Filipinos going home for the holidays, bringing with them the money they saved, while those who may unable to come home will certainly remit money to their loved ones through banks.

“In other words, there will be plenty of money going around this December. This is the perfect storm for foreign and local syndicates to pull off the perfect heist,” the group added.

The group also said online syndicates are also expected to go all out in their illegal schemes before the SIM Card Registration Act is fully implemented next year.

The law was passed to address crimes using the platform including text and online scams by regulating the sale and the use of SIM cards by mandating registration to end-users.

“It is a now or never situation for them and this is why we see the recent rise in unabated SMS scams, which we feel will lead to getting people OTPs and consequently access to the victims’ bank accounts,” the group stressed.

“We humbly request for the NBI to start going after these criminals. We hope that leading to the holidays, authorities arrest as many as they can to not only weaken their network, but also to send the message that the government is serious in its crackdown against online financial scammers,” it added.

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