Solon wants phishing, cybercrimes classified as economic sabotage

Bicol Saro Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — A lawmaker has called for the passage of bills that would classify phishing and other similar offenses as economic sabotage while imposing heftier fines, citing an increase in cybercrime incidents despite the implementation of the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Registration Act.

In a statement on Thursday, Bicol Saro Rep. Brian Yamsuan also suggested that life imprisonment be imposed to anyone who would be convicted of these criminal acts.

Yamsuan said these proposals are contained in House Bill (HB) No. 7976 filed by him and Camarines Sur 2nd District Rep. LRay Villafuerte last May 9.

“Classifying these online fraudulent schemes as acts of economic sabotage aims to send a strong message to criminals who exploit technology for unlawful gain,”Yamsuan said.

“The measure will hopefully deter the commission of these crimes that have continued to proliferate as we usher in the digital economy,” he added.

According to Yamsuan, as the COVID-19 pandemic made people reliant on technology for several transactions, it also meant that criminals have more options in terms of inserting phishing mechanisms.

He mentioned data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) indicating that online fraud, including phishing, hacking, and other kinds, may have cost the country roughly P2 billion between 2019 and 2021.

READ: Cryptocurrency phishing up 170% in PH in 2022

If HB No. 7976 is enacted, it will amend Republic Act No. 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 and insert lines that would define phishing and bulk e-mail sending.

It will change Section 4 (b) of the law to include a provision on economic sabotage as a classification of cybercrime offenses.  If a person is found guilty of economic sabotage, a fine of P5 million awaits him or her, aside from life imprisonment.

“Phishing is the top cybercrime being committed in the country during the pandemic, followed by online selling scams and the proliferation of misinformation that cause panic among the public. The increase in crimes committed in cyberspace was expected considering that direct personal interactions are reduced,” the bill’s explanatory note said.

“Through this bill, steps are taken to ensure that technology is not exploited to perpetuate crimes and put Filipino consumers at a disadvantage,” it added.

The House Committee on information and communications technology would have the chance to deliberate the bill after the second regular session of the 19th Congress opens on July 24.

Last July 7, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) admitted that cybercrime incidents in Metro Manila increased by 152 percent in the first six months of 2023, if compared to the same period in 2022.

CICC said that latest data showed that 6,250 cases of cybercrime were recorded from January to June 2023, compared to just 2,477 recorded by the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) for the first six months of 2022.

“The NCRPO said that total number of  cybercrimes reported to police from January to June 30 reached 6,250 up from 2,477 recorded during the same period  last year,” CICC said.

READ: Cybercrimes in Metro Manila up 152% in 1st half of 2023 — CICC 

This was despite the country already implementing the SIM Registration Act.  Recently, it was discovered that fraudsters have been using the said law as a cover, in a bid to obtain personal and confidential information from people.

Both the National Telecommunications Commission and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) issued serious warnings against these scams that could victimize Filipinos who intend to register their SIM cards. With reports from Bea Alicia Delariarte, INQUIRER.net trainee

READ: Cybercrimes still up despite SIM registration law – police data 

READ: SIM registration, meant to fight scams, now being used for fraud 

JPV