CICC warns ahead of Xmas shopping
The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) on Thursday advised the public to be extra careful in doing their Christmas shopping online amid the proliferation of scammers in this sector, saying the Philippines now rates highest at 35.9 percent incidence among 11 Asian nations.
The 2023 Asia Scam Report released at the 1st Anti-Scam Asia Summit in Taipei and published by GASA and Gogolook was based on data collected from nearly 20,000 respondents across 11 countries in Asia – the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, China, and Indonesia.
Based on the Asia Scam Report, 24.8 percent of Filipino victims respond too quickly to scammers’ demands and 21.1 percent of victims chose to take a risk despite uncertainty about the risk.
The CICC said online shopping scam was one of the nine mainstream scam scenarios and techniques identified in the Asian countries surveyed.
Other stings covered identity theft, investment, government/bank transactions, jobs, lottery, family/relatives relations, bill payment, and charity.
CICC executive director Alexander Ramos advised the public to be extra careful when doing their online shopping, especially during the Yuletide season.
“Based on our observations, shopping scams usually increase during the Christmas season,” he said.
“Scammers take advantage of the high volume of online shopping and people’s vulnerability during this period,” Ramos explained.
The mindset and immediate response of Filipinos, when confronted with scams, make them vulnerable to the con games, according to Ramos.
“Some people easily believe on false promises even if they are too good to be true,” he said.
Other reasons for vulnerability include being enticed with incentives and over-trusting with friends and family members.
CICC urged the public to call hotline 1326 if they are victims of shopping scams and other cybercrimes.