Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Sunday said he might ask the National Bureau of Investigation to run after the perpetrators who created his fake email account and used it for illegal solicitations.
“The DOJ Office of Cybercrime (DOJ-OOC) is on it. If necessary, I’ll seek help from the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation),” Guevarra said in a text message.
Last Aug. 6, the DOJ-OOC warned the public against receiving the email [email protected] purportedly that of Guevarra and being used to solicit donations in the form of iTunes gift cards for the allegedly sick and terminally ill.
“The said email address was used to send messages to a number of recipients requesting assistance in the alleged procurement of iTunes gift cards as donations to patients at hospice care units across the Philippines, subject to reimbursement,” lawyer Charito A. Zamora, Officer-in-Charge of the DOJ-OOC said in a public advisory.
“In this regard, please be informed that the DOJ Office of the Secretary’s only official email address (on gmail) is [email protected],” Zamora said. The other official email address is [email protected].
“Messages coming from a different email address than that of the official one…, shall be dealt with conscientiously, as these neither originate from this Department, the Office of the Secretary, nor the Justice Secretary,” DOJ OOC official added.
The DOJ-OOC advised to public that should they receive the fake email, they should block the sender, report it as phishing and spam, and inform the incident to the service provider.
It also warned those behind the fake email that “the unauthorized input, alteration, or deletion of computer data or program causing damage thereby with fraudulent intent is among the prohibited and punishable acts under Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.”
The DOJ stressed that any person found guilty of the offense is punished with imprisonment of prision mayor (six years and one day to 12 years) or a fine of at least P200,000.