FILE PHOTO: Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito. (Joseph B. Vidal/Senate PRIB)
MANILA, Philippines — Senator JV Ejercito’s son fell victim to scammers when the government strengthened its fight to curb text fraud by mandating the registration of all subscriber identity module (SIM) cards.
The mandatory SIM list-up ended last month, around the same time Ejercito’s son, Emilio, was scammed by an unidentified mobile phone caller.
“My son recently, naku, ‘yung kanyang savings ng ilang taon nung nagtatrabaho na, nalimas. Na-scam,” Ejercito told reporters in an interview on Friday.
(“My son recently…his savings from several years of working were stolen. He got scammed.)
READ: Unregistered SIM cards to get 5-day grace period
“Mukhang inside job eh (It looks like an inside job),” he said, noting that the scammer knows all information about his son, like his birthday and house address.
“Nung nabigyan s’ya ng credit card after nun may mga tumawag na sa kanya, asking for information. Ang nakapatagtaka, alam n’ya ‘yung info eh kaya sabi kong inside job. Alam ‘yung mga background lahat,” Ejercito said.
(When he was given a credit card, after that, some people started to call him, asking for information. It is surprising that [the scammer] knew the information they sought, which is why I said it might be an inside job. He knows all the background.)
READ: No SIM registration? Say goodbye to your e-wallet, warns DICT
“Kaya siyempre itong bata, being naive pa siguro akala niya talagang legit kasi nga alam ‘yung information niya kasi alam kung saan siya nakatira, birthday, parents, lahat, school, nabigay niya ‘yung OTP (one time password).”
(So, of course, this kid, being naive, maybe thought it was legit because he knew his information, where he lived, birthday, parents, everything, school, he gave the OTP.)
“To cut the story short, nalimas ‘yung kanyang savings ng ilang taon kong binibigay sa kanya. Matipid tong bata eh. Hindi gumagastos, talagang ‘pag binibigyan ng pamasko o birthday talagang tinatago niya. P100,000 yata ‘yun, P120,000…” the senator said.
(To cut the story short, the savings I’ve been giving him for several years were all emptied. This kid is frugal. He doesn’t spend much; whenever he receives money as a gift for Christmas or his birthday, he saves it. It’s probably around P100,000, maybe P120,000…)
Ejercito said the fraud was already reported to the cybercrime division of the National Bureau of Investigation.
Venting his frustration, Ejercito lamented: “This happens kahit na may (even when there is) SIM registration.”
The senator mentioned the incident when asked about the vast confidential and intelligence funds proposal in the 2024 national budget for certain government offices like the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).
READ: Office of the President again seeks bulk of intel, confidential funds
If the DICT would use the budget for anti-fraud, then the request would be justifiable, Ejercito said.