Sen. Gatchalian files bill for financial account scams

Senator Win Gatchalian proposes a bill addressing the increase of financial scams in the Philippines. This is to expand the government’s commitment to digital transactions and to protect citizens from scammers.

“We need to protect the integrity of the country’s financial system and ensure that financial accounts and their owners are protected and are not exploited or lured by cybercriminals or criminal syndicates into the commission of an unlawful or fraudulent activity,” said Gatchalian.

As cashless payments increase in today’s world, the rise of financial cybercrimes are also evident. With that, Gatchalian has filed a bill to penalize those who commit such deeds.

“Cybercriminals started taking advantage of technologies to transfer illicit or stolen funds across digital financial services, stealing vital information about account holders and taking over their accounts, or enticing account holders with gifts and incentives with the goal of covertly committing financial crimes,” he stated.

Gatchalian has also stated: “Operations of cybercriminals grew on a large scale, taking advantage of the unemployed, those who are looking for easy money, those who are unaware, and those who are willing to help others, and thriving in jurisdictions with very weak enforcements and penalties like the Philippines.”

Based on Kaspersky Security Network’s 2022 Report, the Philippines is rank 15th for users facing the greatest risk of malware with 49.8% of Filipino users being targeted by web threats last year.