Cybercrimes in the National Capital Region (NCR) rose drastically by 152 percent during the first half of the year partly due to the carelessness of online users and the availability of malware online, according to the Philippine National Police.
The latest statistics on cybercrime were released at the Joint Ant-Bank Robbery and Cybercrime Coordinating Committee (JABRACCC) Second Quarter Meeting for 2023 held at the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) at the National Cybercrime Hub in Bonifacio Global City Taguig City.
The NCR Police Office of the PNP said that total number of cybercrimes reported to police from January to June 30 reached 6,250 up from 2,477 recorded during the same period last year.
Online scam during the same period almost tripled to 4,446 compared to 1,551 last year, while illegal access reached 1,063, up 86 percent from 570 during the same period last year.
ATM and credit card fraud also rose during the first semester to 625 which is more than double the 241 cases reported during the same period last year.
Jay D. Guillermo, head of the PNP’s Regional Anti-Cybercrime Unit (RACU)-NCR projected that the exponential growth of cybercrime will continue due to the availability of malware on the Internet, technological development, and careless online users.
CICC division chief engineer Norman Ancheta said the agency’s Inter-Agency Response Center has received 4,615 complaints from January 1 to June 15 this year. IARC was established on December 27, 2022 following the implementation of the SIM registration law.
“Despite the ongoing implementation of the SIM Registration Act, cybercrime and cyber security related concerns of the public are on the uptrend,” Ancheta said.
The IARC, which receives complaints through social media, website and telephone hotline 1326, received a total of 3,609 complaints related to SIM registration and 904 cyber complaints from January 1 to June 15. Most of the cyber complaints are related to online fraud (364), illegal access (192), and online libel (103).
CICC executive director Alexander K. Ramos emphasized: “The need for a single portal is necessary to allow government to have a firm grasp of reality in fighting cybercrimes.”
