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3:41 pm on 5 December 2021, Sunday
An inter-agency committee composed of ten government agencies, including the National Privacy Commission, has been formed to catch those behind smishing and text spams luring the public to join spurious investment schemes and work-from-home jobs.
According to a statement from the NPC, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) heads the technical working group created to work against ICT-enable scams and fraud.
Other agencies are the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Department of Justice, Department of Information and Communications Technology, Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Trade and Industry, National Security Council and Anti-Money Laundering Council.
The NPC said the group was formed on November 26 following the call of Privacy Commissioner Raymund Liboro to prevent what he said is a potential "privacy disaster."
CICC Executive Director Cezar Mancao for his part said: "We desire to assist victims of cybercrime to the fullest and bring the culprits to justice."
The NPC said the committee has set up a hub to centralize complaints and is developing an app and web portal for the reporting of victims.
After reports are received, the CICC will furnish telecommunications companies with numbers provided by the victims and from other agencies to have these blocked.
For long-term action, the committee is also looking at prepaid text and call attestation, the Commission said. This can "trace the owner of numbers listed in a registry to be attested by telcos."
Libro said the telcos in the country are open to the idea. He added: "How can you trust a number calling or texting you? There should be a way to attest for the number contacting you."