The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) issued a strong warning on Monday, March 25, to individuals planning to call "1326" with only the intention of prank calls.
"Kayo (prank callers) po ay sasampahan namin ng kaso (we will file charges against you)," DICT Secretary Ivan John Uy said in the second phase of the "Online Bantay Lakbay," anti-travel scam campaign of the government.
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The hotline "1326" is solely dedicated to handling cybercrime-related incidents. Victims can call this number in case of any unwanted incidents, and it is available 24/7.
Meanwhile, the DICT chief underscored that the agency can easily track prank callers due to Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) registration.
"You know, we've already implemented SIM card registration, and with that, we can trace those prank calls," Uy explained.
He then pointed out that those who attempt to make prank calls are most likely members of a syndicate aiming to sabotage the operation.
"So, most likely, if they make prank calls, they could be part of a syndicate operating to scam and wanting to sabotage those hotlines,"
"So, we'll include you in the case, and you'll experience the firm hand of our law enforcers and our justice system," he added.
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Visible decrease in scam texts
Moreover, the DICT official emphasized the significant decrease in text scams right after the deadline for SIM card registration.
"You know, based on data from the police, NBI, and telcos, there has been a significant decrease in scam texts. It's not just a few, so sim card registration has been a huge help in reducing these incidents," Uy said.
"Before, we didn't know the identities of the scammers sending texts, but now we can track them because of sim card registration, whether they use another name or whatever," he added.
Uy then responded to comments online about the ineffectiveness of SIM card registration, emphasizing that it is a crucial aspect of law enforcement.
"That's really how it is. Any law enforcement activity isn't one hundred percent. If a blackboard is white, people's attention is on the black dot, they don't see the entire whiteboard anymore," he said.
"We'll still address it, but based on our data, sim card registration has greatly helped," Uy added.
Online criminal activities increase to 300%
Furthermore, Uy said, "We have data from the pandemic showing a 300 percent increase in cybercrime and online criminal activities."
"So we see that criminals are taking advantage of people who are relatively easy to deceive," he explained.