The Cybercrime Investigation Coordinating Center (CICC), along with Scam Watch Pilipinas, the national citizen arm of the Philippine government to educate Filipinos about cyber fraud, requested the public to report scam numbers via the eGov Super App.
In a statement on July 3, CICC Executive Director Undersecretary Alexander Ramos announced that the government has introduced a new reporting channel.
In addition to the Inter-Agency Response Center (I-ARC) Hotline 1326, there is now the new eReport feature on the eGov App.
“Victims of cyber fraud should call 1326 and those who just received text scams can report the numbers to the eGov App eReport feature," Ramos said.
"The CICC investigates the data received from the eGov App and we send it to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) which shall immediately block the numbers,” he added.
In June 2023, the eGov Super App, also known as the eGov App, was launched under the theme "Connecting Communities, Enriching Lives, Forging a Digital Future for the Philippines."
It aims to streamline and simplify transactions between the government and citizens.
READ:
At the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Bayang Digital Ang Bagong Pilipinas Regional Roadshow in Baguio City, DICT Undersecretary for eGovernment David Almirol formally unveiled the "eReport" feature on the eGov App.
“Aside from elevating the level of convenience of government transactions digitally, the public can maximize the eReport feature of the eGov App to report not only scams but also crimes, women and child abuse, red tape, fire, accident, and even overpricing,” Almirol said.
Meanwhile, Scam Watch Pilipinas Co-Founder and Co-Lead Convenor Jocel de Guzman emphasized that the said app empowers the public to directly act upon text scams themselves using their mobile device.
“The public should maximize the eGov App scam reporting feature where they can easily submit a screenshot of the suspicious message they received from SMS (Short Message Service), messaging applications such as FB Messenger, WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram among others, Email, and social media posts,” De Guzman said.
How to report
According to the parties involved in this useful initiative, the public can report scam numbers by following seven easy steps through the eGov App's "eReport" feature.
First, download the eGov App from Google Play for Android users or the Apple App Store for iOS users, and register.
After the initial steps, open the eGov App and go to the "More" section. Then, tap "Report."
Once users are in the "Report" section, choose "Scam."
Next, select "Text Scam" and upload up to five screenshots of the scam message.
The public can also write a description of the scam in the provided text box.
After all the steps are completed, they may tap the "Submit" button to finalize the report ticket.