As he renewed his call to institutionalize the needed measures ensuring consumer protection, Senator Win Gatchalian pressed for enhanced redress mechanisms and information security measures of telecommunications companies and banking institutions in the light of recent cyber heists through subscriber identity module (SIM) swap scam.
With the holiday season just a few weeks away, Gatchalian said the resurgence of cybercrimes by nefarious individuals should be anticipated this early.
The veteran legislator took note of a recent incident relayed in a newspaper column on how a housewife’s credit card was charged P1.7 million after her SIM card was replaced by fraudsters to underhandedly carry out online credit card transactions.
The matter is now being investigated by the National Bureau of Investigation.
“It’s incumbent upon telcos and banks to provide an added layer of protection to consumers considering the rise in the number of digital transactions following the outbreak of the pandemic,” the seasoned lawmaker stressed.
His Senate Bill 2287 or the proposed Financial Products and Services Consumer Protection Act seeks to expand the powers of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and other financial regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Insurance Commission (IC) and the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) to perform acts necessary for the protection of financial consumers.
The senator said this would ensure consumers prompt and more efficient process when seeking reparation in financial transactions as warranted by financial regulators, sparing them from resorting to legal recourse in courts if their claim involves a return of money from a financial service provider.
“The public should be equally careful in divulging their personal information or allowing others to use their personal information.”
“Information security is a shared responsibility. The public should be equally careful in divulging their personal information or allowing others to use their personal information,” he said.
“Dala ng pangangailangan, asahan na natin ang paglobo ng mga iligal na gawain ng mga hackers.”
“Dala ng pangangailangan, asahan na natin ang paglobo ng mga iligal na gawain ng mga hackers. Obligasyon ng mga kumpanyang nagbibigay serbisyo sa mga online transactions na siguruhing protektado ang mga kliyente nila,” Gatchalian added.
The Vice Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies said we should also encourage government agencies in coming up with education and awareness campaigns.
