MANILA — The mandatory subscriber identity module (SIM) registration has been extended for 90 more days or until July 26, 2023, and scammers seemingly jumped in glee and even shifted to high gear their nefarious, scamming ways.
And this, government authorities took time out through the media to warn the public “to be wary of e-wallet scams” that seemingly proliferated in just a few days after the government intervened and moved the mandatory April 26, 2023 deadline to July 26, 2023.
The main reason for its extension was to give the public more time to comply with Republic Act 11934, the law covering the mandatory SIM card registration said President Marcos when he allowed the extension to give the estimated 20 million subscribers more time to register their SIM cards.
It was the Anti-Cybecrime Group (ACG) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) that issued the warning against the proliferation of e-wallet scams after it noticed a surge in cases.
In the words of ACG chief Brig. Gen. Sidney Hernia, scammers allegedly took advantage of the confusion and panic as the public and government officials scrambled on what to do with the poor compliance of the RA 11934 deadline.
Hernia said that based on their investigation of the new modus, scammers would lure the public into sharing their information and bank account details by posing as representatives of legitimate e-wallet companies or financial institutions.
They would also entice victims with high rewards or discounts and lure victims into revealing personal information and once scammers already have these, they will then use it to transfer funds out of the victim’s account, and then disappear without a trace Hernia explained.
“The public should be more vigilant when receiving messages or phone calls, especially those offering deals that seem too good to be true,” Hernia said.
“We will continue to carry out different police operations and activities to maintain a safe and secure environment in cyberspace and apprehend cybercriminals.” (ai/mtvn)
