THE National Bureau of Investigation-Southeastern Mindanao Regional Office (NBI-Semro) observed a proliferation of investment scams and cyber crime complaints in Davao City.
“Maraming nagko-complain sa opisina namin because of these kinds of violations (We have received a lot of complaints at our office about these kinds of violations),” Atty. Arcelito Albao, Regional Director of NBI Southeastern Mindanao Regional Office (NBI-SEMRO), said during the AFP-PNP press conference on January 4, 2023, at the Royal Mandaya Hotel.
Albao said they are receiving an average of 50 complaints every month at their office when it comes to cybercrime concerns.
They also noted that they have received more complaints on investment scam concerns. However, they were not able to provide an estimate or exact number as of press time.
“Mga nabiktima online, nabiktima in-person, so mas marami ito kaya ito (investment scams) yong iniimbestigahan namin ngayon (There are online and in-person victims of investment scams and we are investigating several cases of these),” he said.
Albao said most investment scams are operated by syndicates.
“Hindi lang isa, hindi lang dalawa but marami (This is not just one or two syndicates but there is a lot of them)… So, this is a large-scale and syndicated scam,” he said, adding that these groups have victimized a lot of people already.
He said despite the warnings from the Security and Exchange Commission people are persuaded to invest.
“They are still victimized because of the offer of a good investment. You can have your money, plus the interest, and the other surpluses that can add to your income,” Albao said.
For cybercrimes, Albao added that they also received complaints on skimming, smishing, hacking, and cracking.
There were also complaints from individuals being allegedly harassed by online lending companies.
“Ito yong mga nakautang na hindi nagbabayad, so maraming mga ganon, and automatically pag nag-loan ka dito sa online lending, lahat ng mga contacts mo sa Facebook, Viber and other numbers makukuha nila (These are those who have not paid their loans. Once you availed their service, they will be able to access of all your contacts in Facebook and Viber. They are also abl to get other numbers too),” he said.
He added that once these online lending companies get these contacts they will eventually call them.
“That’s why if you notice sometimes tinatawagan ka because para kang naging co-maker or guarantor na hindi mo alam, kasi nakukuha nila lahat ng information sa taong umutang sa kanila (you will receive a call because you have become a guarantor or co-maker without your consent. They (lending firm) are able to get these information once someone will avail their services),” Albao said. KSD