Sen. Jinggoy Estrada submitted a Senate Bill that seeks to protect senior citizens from online scams and fraudulent activities.
Senator Jinggoy Estrada filed Senate Bill No. 671 or Senior Citizens’ Fraud Education Act seeking to protect senior citizens from cybercrimes and other deceitful activities.
There has been a 100-percentspikein the proliferation of cybercrimes targeting mostly retired elderly citizens, the Manila Bulletin reported.
Thus, the bill seeks to establish a centralized inter-agency office that would be entrusted with providing periodic information distribution to senior citizens, their relatives, and caregivers about the scammers' different schemes
“Walang manloloko kung walang magpapaloko. At walang mabibiktima kung sila ay may alam sa mga istilo ng mga scammers” Estrada said.
He stressed the importance of looking after those who are vulnerable like the senior citizens most of whom are unfamiliar with modern technology.
Estrada said organized criminal syndicates use social media and other online channels to conduct unlawful activities. One of those activities is text scams where individuals are scammed to send money or information. Text scams may include a message that the individual has won something, an “emergency” message, mysterious links that contain malware, and even a notice from a bank.
Partnerships and works
To confront these scams, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will be the lead industry to handle these illegal activities. It will be supported by the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of Health (DOH), and the Philippine Postal Corporation.
DTI will also establish a partnership with the National Commission of Senior Citizens and the Office of Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA). They would be required to develop and promote mechanisms for reporting and filing complaints about fraud schemes targeting senior citizens and other vulnerable populations via mail, telemarketing, and the internet.
The DTI will also work with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Insurance Commission (IC), the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to determine the various types of scams and cybercrimes.
DTI would also be responsible for maintaining a website where citizens may obtain information to assist in the detection of scams including financial products and services, lending and investing instruments, insurance products, text scams, and other fraudulent activities.
It is highly encouraged to the current generation to also help the seniors in identifying such activities and avoid being scammed.
Tags: #CyberScam, #SeniorCitizens, #DTI, #GovernmentSectors