MANILA – The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC), Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), and other government agencies partnered with Scam Watch Pilipinas for the “Holiday Watch PH” campaign on Friday at the National Cybercrime Hub in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.

The campaign also saw participation from the National Privacy Commission (NPC), the Department of Transportation, the National Telecommunications Commission, the Special Action and Intelligence Committee for Transportation, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and Gogolook.

A key feature of the campaign is the relaunch of the “12 Scams of Christmas,” highlighting common scams that may occur during the holiday season.

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The list includes fake online charity scam, proliferation of phishing emails and SMS, fake shipping scam, tech support scam, fake relative scam, online shopping scam, love scam, job posting scam, travel scam, appeal-to-pity scam, policy violations scam, and good-to-be-true ads scam.

In response to these potential scams, the agencies presented 8 ways to combat holiday season scams:

1. Call 1326 for online scam victims
2. eReport Online Scams to eGov Super App
3. eReport Online Consumer Complaint to eGov Super App
4. Call 0920-964-DOTR (3687) for Commuter Complaints
5. Use SEC Check App to verify companies offering investments
6. Check NPC Seal of Registration for Legitimate Commercial Websites
7. Download Whoscall Anti-Scam App for Device Protection
8. Follow the Four (4) Kontra Scam Attitudes

Head of the DTI E-Commerce Bureau, Undersecretary Mary Jean Pacheco, encouraged consumers to file complaints using the eGov Super App whenever they encounter scams.

“Ang gawin po natin ay makipag-usap po tayo kung saan natin binili at kung ang complaint po ay… di tayo happy dun sa complaint, tayo po ay pwedeng mag file dito under the eGov app,” she said.

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“Madali lang po punta po kayo sa gov app, punta ho kayo sa nakalagay eReport System, pag nakita nyo po yung eReport system makikita nyo po dun yung E-Commerce. At kapag nandun po yung E-Commerce ay tatanungin lang po tayo ng mga questions relative sa ating consumer complaint,” she explained.

Pacheco added that they will partner with law enforcement agencies to explore technologies aimed at enhancing consumer safety in the online space. 

“Kanina po before this nakita po ninyo na kumpleto po marami po dito ang mga law enforcement agencies para first meeting pong coordination kung paano po magiging much more efficient, much more effective at whole of government approach,” she said. 

Meanwhile, NPC Director Aubin Arn Nieva cautioned consumers about making online transactions this holiday season, as it could compromise their personal data. 

Nieva emphasized that consumers should only trust and transact with businesses that have a seal of registration from the NPC. According to Nieva, this seal signifies trust and accountability. 

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“Pano kung yung personal data ninyo na ibinigay sa website na yun, sa kumpanyang yun na kumukuha ng personal data nyo at na-breach, na-hack sila, nakuha yung datos mo at hindi rehistrado, wala seal of registration yung kumpanyang yun? Yung NPC mahihirapan ngayon maghabol dahil wala silang rehistradong data protection officer, di naka rehistro yung kanilang data processing system,” he said.

“Pag yang mga kumpanya na yan nagpa-rehistro ng kanyang data processing system mapag mumuni-muni nya kung anong klaseng cybersecurity ang dapat niyang bilhin at ipapatakbo sa kanyang kumpanya para protektahan ang datos na kanyang kinokolekta.”