PNP warns of surge in e-wallet scams

MANILA, Philippines — The public has been warned to be wary of e-wallet scams ahead of the latest deadline set by the government for SIM card registration.

The Anti-Cybecrime Group (ACG) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) issued the warning after it noticed a surge in cases involving e-wallet scams.

ACG chief Brig. Gen. Sidney Hernia said that scammers are taking advantage of the confusion and panic among the public to trick them into sharing their information and bank account details.

Based on their investigation, Hernia said scammers pose as representatives of legitimate e-wallet companies or financial institutions and offer enticing rewards or discounts to lure their victims into revealing personal information.

Once the scammers have obtained the victim’s information, they use it to transfer funds out of the victim’s account, and then disappear without a trace.

The ACG called for vigilance when receiving messages or phone calls, especially those offering deals that seem too good to be true.

“We will continue to carry out different police operations and activities to maintain a safe and secure environment in cyberspace and apprehend cybercriminals,” Hernia said.

President Marcos recently approved a 90-day extension for SIM Card registration which was supposed to have lapsed last April 26.

Marcos allowed the extension to give the estimated 20 million subscribers more time to register their SIM cards.

Meanwhile, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada is pushing for a measure requiring telecommunication companies and internet service providers (ISPs) to refund their subscribers who experience service interruptions for at least 24 hours accumulated within a month.

Estrada filed Senate Bill 2074 or the proposed Refund for Internet and Telecommunications Service Outages and Disruptions Act.

The measure seeks to require public telecommunication entities and ISPs to institute mechanisms that will enable them to automatically refund or adjust the bills of their postpaid and prepaid subscribers whenever the service is disrupted.

“A refund should be in order if the service outages would accumulate to 24 hours in a month,” Estrada said. “We pay for the services. When you don’t pay the bill on time, they cut the line immediately. If they can’t match the service we pay for, it should be deducted from our bills.”

“Why should we pay for a service that we have not benefited from? And at a time when our every move is almost dependent on gadgets and digital devices, it is important to have a fast, accessible and reliable connection,” he added.

Estrada said his bill also seeks to amend Section 20 of Republic Act 7925, or the Public Telecommunications Policy Act to include a provision mandating refund credit to a customer who experienced a service outage and disruption for an aggregate period of 24 hours or more within a month.

He said the refund credit should also be granted to customers subscribing to a service on a prepaid basis. – Cecille Suerte Felipe