By Noreen Jazul
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) saw an increase in the number of phishing and donation scams since the start of the enhanced community quarantine.
(Pixabay / MANILA BULLETIN)
NBI Cybercrime Division Chief Victor Lorenzo said there has been a “100 percent increase” in phishing cases reported in the agency.
Lorenzo said the Bangkok Sentral ng Pilipinas has reached out to NBI to address the cases.
“Humingi na sila ng assistance dahil nga sobra na yung reports, sobra yung pag taas," Lorenza said.
(The central bank has sought assistance from the NBI because there have been multiple reports , the rise in the number of cases has been overwhelming for them.)
According to Lorenzo, phishing happens when a cybercriminal poses as a bank representative and asks for a person’s account details such as account number and password.
Lorenzo reminded the public that banks will never ask customers for such details.
“Kapag nag online transaction tayo, meron tayong one-time pin. Hindi hihingin ng banko 'yan kasi sa kanila nanggaling yan,” he added.
(When we do online transactions, we receive a one-time pin. The bank will never ask for this pin because it’s from them in the first place.)
Aside from phishing, Lorenza said there has also been an alarming number of cyber criminals mimicking institutions to ask for donations for COVID-19 relief.
“Ang ginagawa ng cybercriminals ngayon cina-capitalize nila yung situation, humihingi sila ng donations,” Lorenza said.
(What the cybercriminals are doing now is they’re capitalizing the COVID-19 situation by asking for donations.)
Lorenzo meanwhile urged the public to report online scams through NBI’s website.