Group urges NBI to go after financial ‘scammers’ this Xmas season
NATIONAL Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Medardo de Lemos has been urged to go after financial fraud syndicates, both foreign and domestic, which have been “preying” on overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), including local employees.
This as the Action for Consumerism and Transparency in Nation Building (ACTNB), in a letter to de Lemos dated December 5, noted that OFWs are set to send money to their loved ones in the country this Christmas season.
The ACTNB, an organization pushing for the welfare of consumers in the Philippines, likewise noted that local workers, especially those at the minimum wage level, will also receive their 13th-month pay and other bonuses.
“We are writing to express alarm after reading media reports that international bank fraud syndicates are again bracing for a massive scam that targets the bank accounts of Filipino employees.
This threat is even more pronounced as millions of workers begin receiving their long-awaited 13th-month pay and other Christmas bonuses.”
“At the same time, we expect more overseas Filipinos to go home for the holidays, bringing with them the money they saved. Those who cannot go home will certainly remit money to their loved ones through banks,” the group said.
The group pointed out that the Christmas season is “the perfect storm for foreign and local syndicates to pull off the perfect heist.”
At the same time, the group pointed out this is the best opportunity for criminals to commit massive fraud because, by 2023, the SIM Card Registration Act will be fully implemented.
“It is a now or never situation for them, and this is why we see the recent rise in unabated SMS scams, which we feel will lead to getting people OTPs and consequently access to the victims’ bank accounts.”
“We humbly request for the NBI to start going after these criminals. We hope that leading to the holidays, authorities arrest as many as they can to not only weaken their network but also to send the message that the government is serious in its crackdown against online financial scammers,” the group said in a letter.
