#data crime

The National Privacy Commission's (NPC) initial investigations revealed that the scam texts is run by a global crime syndicate and has summoned the data protection officers of Globe, Smart, DITO, Lazada, Shopee, and several banks to report on their spam prevention measures to combat the said scam. Liboro said that based on NPC’s initial investigations, the recent spam texts are run by a global crime syndicate, and not by a group that has gained unauthorized access to contact tracing forms, which was one of the first suspicions. "If our initial findings prove true, that personal data is being exploited by criminals abroad, then this also becomes a matter of national security, which should compel government, the private sector and advocate groups to work hand in hand and take more urgent and concrete action to safeguard," said Liboro. Liboro reminded data subjects anew to remain vigilant and not open suspicious links. Liboro lastly assured that the NPC will continue to monitor the situation and encouraged victims to immediately file a report against the malicious senders, especially if they think their personal data has been compromised. The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) has ordered the temporary blocking of the game GoreBox. Read more in our articles including "Global crime syndicate behind scam text surge, says NPC" and "CICC cracks down on GoreBox after Tacloban school shooting".