PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the Philippine National Police (PNP) to train more officers in fighting cybercrime, noting the rise in the number of internet users in the country falling victims to online scams.

The President said that while it is true that the overall crime rate has declined, cybercrimes are on the rise.

The statistics for Metro Manila alone bolsters his concern. During the first half of 2022, there were 1,551 cases of online scams reported, according to the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center. A year later, the figure had tripled, to 4,446 cases.

In his briefing for the President, PNP chief Benjamin Acorda identified the most prevalent form of cybercrime in the Philippines from July 2022 to January 2024 as swindling or estafa. Other offenses included identity theft, online libel and ATM/credit card fraud.

Acorda said the PNP will step up its training programs on handling online crimes to keep pace with the growing sophistication of cybercriminals.

He said that right now, the PNP's Cybercrime Group operates only on the regional level. To be more effective, the group's operational scope must be expanded to include municipal police stations.

Upgrading the PNP's cybercrime fighting capability is a must for the Philippines, since Filipinos are the world's most voracious internet users. We spend an average of six hours and 58 minutes prowling the internet each day.

Not surprisingly, this addiction has opened a big window of opportunity for those lurking in the dark side of the internet.

An official of the Metro Manila police's Regional Anti-Cybercrime Unit said he expects cybercrime cases to grow exponentially because of the "availability of malware on the internet, ease of doing business of both private and government institutions, technological development and careless online users."

Last year, the government implemented the registration of subscriber identity modules, or SIMs, in an effort to reduce online crimes. So far, however, SIM registration has yet to prove its worth as a cybercrime deterrent.

In 2022, the text-based scams became so rampant the National Telecommunication Commission was severely admonished for not doing enough to prevent it.

Around the world, cybercriminals continue to menace internet users, and law enforcement agencies have been scrambling to strengthen their cybersecurity programs to counter the threat.

In its first-ever Global Crime Trend report in 2022, Interpol said more than 60 percent of the police departments in its 195 member countries rank cybercrimes such as money laundering and online scams as "high or very high threats."

More than 70 percent expect crimes such as ransomware and phishing attacks to rise or significantly increase in the next three to five years, Interpol said.

The private sector, suffering from huge losses (as much as $189 billion annually) due to cyber fraud, has on its own been developing more potent antivirus programs and fraud prevention software to protect their data systems.

According to Seon, a company that develops cybersecurity applications, "businesses can vastly reduce risk by utilizing anti-fraud products such as data enrichment and browser fingerprinting to block suspicious log-ins, prevent account takeovers and detect when someone is using multiple accounts."

The firm noted that in 2022 the most common type of cybercrime in the United States was phishing, where hackers use email to trick online users into giving out their passwords, log-in details and credit card numbers, and pharming, "when the victim is directed to a fake website disguised as a legitimate one."

Lack of information on the risks they face makes internet users easy prey for cyber criminals. Technology expert Art Samaniego said internet and mobile phone users can protect themselves with simple procedures like adopting more secure passwords, not using public WiFi when doing financial transactions, or updating their phone and computer software.

Above all, they should limit posting personal information on social media, Samaniego said.

Public awareness about the threat of internet crimes definitely helps, but the task of preventing and prosecuting such crimes still is the responsibility of the country's law enforcers.

All the more reason for the PNP to quickly adapt to its role as the guardians of cyberspace.

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