The lack of digital literacy makes Filipinos vulnerable to cybercrime

Filipinos who lack sufficient knowledge in the digital world are susceptible to cybercrime, Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) Undersecretary Alexander K. Ramos said in an interview yesterday.

“We need to raise awareness of the different tactics used by those trying to take advantage of the less educated online. That’s why we have victims who don’t know how to protect themselves when they go online…We need to re-educate,” he stated.

Mr Ramos added that the pandemic caused many people to use the internet unprepared.

“Historically, we have a problem because of the pandemic. People are being forced to embrace technology as a tool and, as part of our norms, our way of life. we have adapted to it considering the ease of online transactions. Because we were forced into this nature, many of our citizens are unwilling to protect themselves,” he explained.

To combat this urgent problem, Mr. Ramos emphasized the importance of citizen participation to identify the different tactics and schemes used in cybercrime.

“It is important to raise awareness and ask the public to report to us so that we can come up with advisory stories about trending online activities that are harmful to everyone,” he added.

In addition to raising awareness and educating citizens, the government is taking measures to ensure the safety of Filipinos online by deploying “technically capable” officers, increasing the budget for cybersecurity and creating new processes and protocols to expedite online crimes, Mr. Ramos.

Online fraud ranks first among cybercrime

The CICC Undersecretary also mentioned that the leading category of cybercrime in the country is online fraud, including phishing, vishing, consumer fraud and online trading.

“The number one complaint is online fraud transactions… You can divide it into different sub-topics such as phishing, vishing, consumer fraud, online commerce, because we use one strategy for this and it falls under the category of online fraud,” he stated.

PMGEN Sidney S. Hernia has elaborated in a press release that the increase in online activity and the continued advancement of technology is one of the reasons for the increasing number of digital scams in the country.

“The rise of e-commerce and online platforms provides more opportunities for scammers to carry out their schemes,” he said.

In the first quarter of 2024, the This was reported by the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG). 4,469 cybercrime incidents, an increase of 21.84% compared to the previous quarter. – Almira Louise S. Martinez