MANILA -- The Philippine Statistics Authority on Wednesday reminded the public to be careful against 'National ID scams.'

In a statement, the state statistics bureau said scammers are messaging people via social media, offering to help them with registering with the national ID System, updating incorrect details, or even printing or downloading the national ID.

The scammers usually ask users to enter personal data on a supposed website for the national ID, but these are fake.

In some cases, alleged scammers make video calls to their victims, or ask them to make payments.

The PSA noted that collecting or using personal data other than for authentication or identity verification can be punished with 6 to 10 years of imprisonment and fined P3 million to P5 million.

National Statistician Dennis Mapa also stressed that the agency will never ask for sensitive personal information via social media or messaging apps.

“Data privacy and security is of the highest priority for the PSA...we strongly condemn such fraudulent acts and reiterate that these are punishable by law,” he said.

The PSA said it has so far distributed more than 55 million national ID cards out of the 91.7 million who registered until the end of 2024.

It said it needs more funds to address by this year the backlog in ID cards, which is currently at 36 million.

PSA says more funds needed for 36 million National ID backlog