The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) has warned the public against vishing or voice phishing, especially as the ‘ber’ months or the months leading up to the holidays near.
According to a “24 Oras” report by Bernadette Reyes on Thursday, phishing involves stealing personal information to take money from the victims. It is done through email or short message service (SMS), but the CICC said that now, vishing is done to catch victims off guard.
Robert Paguia, CICC division chief of international cooperation on cybercrime and data protection II officer, said scammers introduce themselves as personnel of a bank, Social Security System, or Government Service Insurance System and tell the victim that their account has been compromised.
The scammer will then send a link to the victim, telling them to click it and send their one-time password and PIN to them.
“Riza,” not her real name, shared that she almost fell victim to vishing when a supposed e-wallet company called her and asked if she received unwanted text messages.
“Nagdalawang isip na ako na bakit kailangan ko sabihin yung password ko po sa kanila na pinalit ko since it’s very private. Meron na silang spill, parang bihasa na sila for that, sa pang-scam,” Riza said.
(I had second thoughts about the need to tell them my password I had just changed, since it’s very private. They already had a script. It was like they were experts at scamming.)
According to the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG) and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), scamming is rampant as Christmas draws near, so it is important for the public to be discerning.
“Tinitingnan nila yung trend. For example, itong ‘ber’ months, ano ba yung meron? Ano ba ang uso? Ano ba yung topic ng mga tao ngayon, mga regalo? Then, ano ba ang gusto pa? Magkaroon ng pera. Dahil nga, ito na, may bonus, makakatanggap ng bonus. Tinatarget din nila yun, magkakapera yung mga tao,” said Efren Abantao, NBI senior agent of digital forensic laboratory.
(They’re looking into the trends this ber months like what’s happening; what is being talked about, like gifts; and what people want, like money. Since people are receiving their bonuses, scammers are targeting the public’s money.)
PNP-ACG director Police General Brigadier Bernard Yang also urged the public to avoid having transactions with suspicious people.
According to PNP-ACG, there were 22,423 reported cases related to cybercrime in 2024.
Since December 2024, the PNP-ACG has arrested around 1,000 individuals through entrapment operations, including those wanted for cybercrime.
“It doesn’t spare anyone. Minsan, the cybercriminals have become so good, not only using AI but also psychology in tricking you into really thinking, oh nga, click ko na ito (you should click it). Then they would be able to get your system, said Donald Lim, chairman of the Cybersecurity Council of the Philippines.
“So I think it’s very important for us to make sure that this education campaign, working with banks, sila yung una (they’re the first), banks, [e-]wallets, at the same time, retail institutions, to educate people on all of this,” he added. —Mariel Celine Serquiña/LDF, GMA Integrated News
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