A House leader has appealed to the public to remain vigilant amid increasingly sophisticated text scams targeting e-wallet users.

Navotas Representative Toby Tiangco, chair of the House Committee on Information and Communication Technology, highlighted the rise in scam messages disguised as legitimate e-wallet advisories.

“Marami po sa ating mga kababayan ang nabiktima na ng mga text scams na nagpapanggap na mula sa mga e-wallets. Maging mapagmatyag po tayo sa modus na ito at huwag mag-click ng links mula sa text messages,” Tiangco said.

Tiangco also called on the Department of Information and Technology (DICT) to step up its efforts against scammers as the holiday season nears.

“Alam naman natin na habang papalapit ang kapaskuhan, lalong nagiging masipag ang mga scammers,” Tiangco said.

“Hindi sapat na minomonitor lang natin ang sitwasyon. Dapat matunton ang mga masasamang loob sa lalong madaling panahon bago pa dumami ang kanilang mga biktima,” he added.

According to the DICT, the phishing messages were being sent through an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) catcher, a device that tracks, intercepts, and mimic legitimate mobile communications.

E-wallet providers Maya and GCash have also reminded users never to click on links from unknown texts.

“After the Marcos administration’s ban on POGO, scammers have intensified their tactics to target unsuspecting Filipinos,” Tiangco said.

“Let us remain vigilant. Report cybercrime incidents to the Inter-Agency Response Center (IARC) Hotline 1326,” the veteran solon added.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Jester P. Manalastas