What do you do when you fall for a cyber scam? Who do you report to? Aside from the financial and emotional damage, those who have the unfortunate experience of being scammed must also take bureaucratic steps to report the incident if they want it to be investigated.
In the Philippines, a victim can initially report the incident to his or her bank. After that, he or she could reach out to different government agencies namely, the Philippine National Police’s Anti-Cybercrime Group, the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Cybercrime, the National Bureau of Investigation, and the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordination Center (CICC).
While there are merits to having several agencies to report to, this can also cause confusion and discourage victims from reporting the incident to authorities. The question is, how do we make it easier for victims to report these cybercrimes? Perhaps, a single agency in charge of scam prevention and investigation can be the solution?
An example of a consolidated response to cybercrime is the Anti-Scam Centre (ASC) in Singapore. Established on June 18, 2019, the ASC is described as the “nerve center” for investigating scams, disrupting scammers’ operations, and mitigating victims’ losses. Going on its fourth year of operations, it continues to fulfill its role as Singapore’s primary anti-scam agency. It is headed by the Singapore Police Force and follows a multipronged…
