PNP on phishing: ‘Don’t get hooked, think before you click’

MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur --The Philippine National Police (PNP) through its Regional Anti-Crime Unit (RACU) has once again reminded citizens, especially of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) to not be hooked and swayed with links or anything online as scams have been luring in the cyberspace. 

During the recent Data Privacy Act and Cybercrime Prevention Act awareness webinar of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), PNP RACU-BAR Investigator and Intel PCpl. Ray Mark Sacatani tackled that one of the commonly encountered nowadays is phishing which is the act wherein cybercriminals send deceptive messages that attempt to persuade individuals into clicking harmful links or opening malicious attachments.

Accordingly, this is usually done via email or text message now known as smishing. 

Sacatani stated everyone is vulnerable to this, thus, the necessity to be extra careful in clicking links received. 

“Huwag kang magpapadala. Huwag kang magkiclick ng kahit ano. Ang gawin mo, think before you click,” he said. 

 

[Do not be convinced. Do not click anything. What you must do is think before you click.]

Since most scams mention names of various banks, Sacatani also emphasized that no bank or financial institution entertains online transactions whereby sensitive information is asked for specific reasons. 

The police official reiterated that whenever citizens get a suspicious message, this has to be verified first for its legitimacy for safety purposes.

“Walang bank nagkicater ng inyong information through online transaction. Walang financial institutions na nagpoprovide ng online update ng ating mga information at mas lalong hindi iyan sila nag-aask ng one-time password (OTP) code because sila na ang may hawak ng ating information… Iconfirm niyo muna kung may nagmessage sa inyo,” said Sacatani.

[No bank caters to your information through online transactions. No financial institutions provide an online update of our information and most especially, they do not ask for a one-time password (OTP) code because they already hold our information… You confirm first if someone has messaged you.]

The PNP RACU-BAR detailed that frauds likewise happen through false representation, phantom riches, and involving social consensus and source credibility. (CRG/PIA-Lanao del Sur)