WITH cases of phishing and other modes of online fraud on the rise, Bicol Saro Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan has proposed that these crimes be classified as acts of economic sabotage punishable with life imprisonment and a fine of up to P5 million.

“Classifying these online fraudulent schemes as acts of economic sabotage aims to send a strong message to criminals who exploit technology for unlawful gain. The measure will hopefully deter the commission of these crimes that have continued to proliferate as we usher in the digital economy,” Yamsuan said.

Yamsuan said the shift to digital transactions, which was accelerated during the pandemic, has emboldened cybercriminals.

He cited data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) which show that an estimated P2 billion may have been lost to phishing, hacking and other forms of online fraud from 2019 to 2021.

Under House Bill (HB) No. 7976 filed by Yamsuan, phishing and other fraudulent activities perpetrated in bulk using information and communications technology (ICT) are deemed to have a “deleterious effect on the economy,” which makes these a “form of economic sabotage and a heinous crime, and shall be punishable to the maximum level allowed by law.”

According to the BSP, complaints related to the use of internet banking and mobile banking accounted for 45.2 percent of total complaints to the agency in 2021.

Reports of hacking and other malware attacks leaped by 2,324 percent in 2020 compared to the previous year, while phishing and other similar schemes increased 302 percent.

Phishing under the bill is referred to as a social engineering scheme to obtain or attempt to obtain sensitive information “by disguising as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication for the purpose of illegally accessing a victim’s online account for financial gain.”

Such sensitive information include usernames, passwords, bank account details, credit card, debit card and e-wallet details.

“Any person found guilty of an offense that constitutes economic sabotage … shall be punished with life imprisonment and a fine of not less than one million peso but not more than five million pesos (P5,000,000.00),” the bill states.

The bill is also authored by Camarines Sur 2nd District Representative LRay Villafuerte.

From 2020 to 2021, the BSP received 42,456 complaints from consumers who fell victim to financial fraud.

The Philippine National Police (PNP), for its part, received reports of fewer text scams this year compared to 2022 following the implementation of the SIM Registration Act.

However, financial crimes such as “click-the-link” scams using SIM cards and involving electronic wallets like GCash, Maya, and Coins.ph rose by 190 percent from January to June of 2023.

The PNP said the resolution rate involving these crimes went up from 70 percent in 2022 to 95 percent for the first half of this year.