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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Yamsuan bill imposes life imprisonment, P1-M fine vs phishing, online scammers

Yamsuan bill imposes life imprisonment, P1-M fine vs phishing, online scammers

Published Jul 20, 2023 12:12 pm
Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Brian Yamsuan (Facebook)



Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan has filed a measure that would slap hefty penalties against individuals found guilty of phishing and other forms of online fraud. The measure, House Bill (HB) No.7976, seeks to define economic sabotage in computer-related offenses. It aims to amend Republic Act (RA) No.10175, also known as the "Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012". The bill proscribes such offenses and provides for a penalty of life imprisonment plus a fine of not less than P1 million but not more than P5 million against violators. “Classifying these online fraudulent schemes as acts of economic sabotage aims to send a strong message to criminals who exploit technology for unlawful gain," said Yamsuan. "The measure will hopefully deter the commission of these crimes that have continued to proliferate as we usher in the digital economy,” added the neophyte congressman. The shift to digital transactions--which was accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic--has emboldened cybercriminals, he said. Under HB No.7976, phishing and other fraudulent activities perpetrated in bulk using information and communications technology (ICT) are deemed to have a “deleterious effect on the economy,” which makes these a “form of economic sabotage and a heinous crime, and shall be punishable to the maximum level allowed by law". The bill defines phishing as a social engineering scheme to obtain or attempt to obtain sensitive information “by disguising as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication for the purpose of illegally accessing a victim’s online account for financial gain". Such sensitive information include usernames, passwords, bank account details, credit card, debit card and e-wallet details. “Any person found guilty of an offense that constitutes economic sabotage…shall be punished with life imprisonment and a fine of not less than one million pesos (P1,000,000.00) but not more than five million pesos (P5,000,000.00),” stated the bill, which was co-authored by Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. LRay Villafuerte. Yamsuan said data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed that an estimated P2 billion may have been lost to phishing, hacking, and other forms of online fraud from 2019 to 2021. From 2020 to 2021, the BSP received 42,456 complaints from consumers who fell victim to financial fraud.

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phishing scam economic sabotage Bicol Saro Party-list Brian Raymund Yamsuan
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