DILG mulls halt in use of logbooks for contact tracing after ‘smishing’ reports

Beware of smishing, DILG warned the public on Tuesday. INQUIRER.net stock photo

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) is studying the possibility of banning the use of logbooks as means for contact tracing after reports of “smishing,” an official said on Tuesday.

“Makikipag-coordinate kami ngayon sa National Privacy Commission kung ipagbabawal na ba natin ‘yung mga logbook,” Interior Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said over Teleradyo.

(We will coordinate with the National Privacy Commission if we should prohibit the usage of logbooks.)

“Kasi marami na nga po tayo na insidente ng ‘smishing’, so kailangan po natin maging mapanuri sa mga panahon na ito,” Malaya added.

(Because we have heard of incidents of “smishing,” so we need to be mindful especially nowadays.)

The NPC, in an advisory, recently warned of “smishing” — a contraption of words SMS (short messaging service) and phishing — which is a fraudulent practice of sending text messages which were made to appear to be from reputable companies in order to deceive individuals to reveal their personal information, such as passwords or credit card numbers.

Malaya said that the fraudsters may have obtained the phone numbers in logbooks that are required to be filled up before entering establishments like malls.

To avoid this, Malaya said establishments should provide separate forms or accept contact tracing applications like the StaySafe app.

“Hindi na po kailangan gumagamit ng mga log book, kasi baka mamaya yung mga nilalagay nating datos sa log book ay ginagamit ng kung sino-sino para sa kung anong paraan,” he pointed out.

(There is no need to use log books, because the data you put on logbooks could be used by somebody in other schemes.)

“Kailangan talaga hiwalay na form ang papipirmahan natin, o kaya naman gumamit tayo ng digital application para makasigurado po tayo na hindi makikita ng iba ‘yung impormasyong nilalagay natin,” Malaya added.

(We need to use separate forms or use digital applications to ensure that other individuals could not see the information that we are providing.)

EDV