By Liza Soriano
MANILA — Senator Grace Poe said on Thursday (22 Feb 2024) that tighter measures are needed to curb financial fraud and protect the Filipinos’ hard-earned money as the country shifts to online banking and digital payments.
“They say that there are only two certain things in life: death and taxes. Ngayon, mukhang kinakailangan na nito ng amendment: death, taxes, and scams,” Poe said.
“These fraudulent schemes and rackets have become the bane of our financial consumers,” she added.
Poe is one of the sponsors of Senate Bill No. 2560 or the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act.
Last week, Poe said news reports revealed at least 120 e-wallet account holders losing money from a phishing scam as reported by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
“These stories and other countless reports of scams, shams, and other deceits only cement our status as a scamming hotbed in Asia,” Poe said.
In 2022, the Philippines ranked 5th among Southeast Asian countries in terms of phishing attacks and incidents, according to Poe.
(el Amigo/MNM)
