THE Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) has declared that combating online scams is a significant challenge for Philippine authorities due to the SIM Registration Act.
PAOCC Executive Director Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz made this statement after credit rating firm Moody’s reported the involvement of Filipino entities and individuals in romance scams. In fact, there has been a sharp increase in these scams, rising from 10 in 2023 to 45 in 2024.
“The Philippines ranked seventh globally for the highest number of entities and people with potential ties to romance scams,” according to Moody’s.
Cruz acknowledged that the Philippines has become a hotspot for cyber scams, particularly romance scams and financial fraud.
“Foreign law enforcement counterparts I’ve spoken with, every time they investigate, they find that the scamming activities or the source of the scams originate from the Philippines,” he said.
“In international events, when I’m invited or attend seminars, forums, or meetings, they always say, ‘We have victims here in our country and upon tracing, we found that it’s coming from you,’” Cruz added.
Cruz further pointed out that one of the problems is the SIM Registration Act, which allegedly allows people to register their SIM cards using fake details.
“Anyone can register a SIM card with any address or picture. So, who will investigators pursue? It’s blank, right?” Cruz said.
“That’s our problem. Online crimes are emanating because they know they can get away with it due to the SIM card registration. They use fake names, bogus addresses,” he continued.
Cruz also highlighted the alarming “love scam,” where victims, often retired men over 35 years old with businesses, are manipulated into sending money to impersonators. These scams utilize manuals created by psychologists and psychiatrists paid by the scammers.
Cruz revealed that scammers have multiple pictures of attractive women and study their victims’ social media behavior. This process takes seven days.
“Once the man falls in love… they introduce him to cryptocurrency. Once he’s introduced and has given money, Ana disappears the next day. The problem now is, who will you chase?” Cruz said, using a fake identity as an example.
