MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / May 3, 2014) – The Philippines has warned Filipinos, especially those who have accounts on social media, to be extra careful what they are posting online and how they use the Internet due to threats posed by hackers and cyber syndicates.
“Be cautious about people you meet online. Revealing personal details online is extremely risky and may not to be who they seem to be, because there are lot of fake accounts online,” said Philippine police chief Alan Purisima.
“Scammers often seek soft targets so they move on if you do not respond, just block their e-mails and their accounts and cease all contacts with the scammer. If ever you encounter this kind of scam, save the scammer’s details, e-mails, comment threads, or any other evidence you have of them and the extortion attempt,” he added.
The warning came following the arrest of 58 people in the Philippines who were tagged or implicated in the so-called “sextortion,” or sexual blackmail in which sexual information or images are used to extort money from victims.
Purisima also issued several advisories against sextortion and further advised the public to be aware in posting video clips or make voice calls on the Internet because it can always be recorded by hackers.
The International Criminal Police Organization has recognized the recent accomplishment by the Philippine police in dismantling sextortion activities by an international syndicate in the country in cooperation with Police Scotland, Interpol, Hong Kong Police, Singapore Police, US Homeland Security Investigation, Child Exploitation Online Protection and the Australian Federal Police.
“I would like to thank them (Philippine National Police and Anti-Cybercrime Group) for their professionalism and dedication, and without whose cooperation and efforts we would not be here today and this Operation would not have been the success it,” said Interpol Director Sanjay Virmani.
“It is also important to highlight that while the arrests made this week were made here in the Philippines, these crimes are not limited to any one country and nor are the victims,” he added.
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