Haven for Cyber Criminals?
The Philippines needs to move quickly on the approval of the cyber crime laws that would effectively deter organized crime syndicates. It was disclosed by a top Philippine National Police (PNP) official that the country appears to be a favorite sanctuary for this breed of criminal. These groups have been involved in cyber pornography, illegal online gambling, cyber sex dens, credit card fraud, and identity theft. The official said that criminals are taking advantage of the “weak laws and poor technical know-how of law enforcers”.
A report said that cyber crime mafias, who are mostly foreigners, are gradually making the Philippines their base of operations. According to the top official, the PNP at present has no organizational and technical capability to fight cyber crimes. These syndicates use sophisticated technology, while law enforcers fall behind in terms of training and equipment. In fact, he said he has asked for support for immediate organizational and technical capability in order to build-up the concerned unit.
The arrest of a foreign national hacker in the country exposed the wide network of cyber crime. There are mafias working behind the operations of illegal online gambling and credit card fraud activities in the country. The operations of these groups seem unhampered as evidenced by the fast growth of their connections.
The Anti-Transnational and Cyber Crime Division of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) arrested a 38-year old Korean national hacker. He was on the list of those wanted by Interpol for large-scale internet fraud. Investigations revealed that the Korean group had hacked the servers of the country’s top telecommunication companies. Further investigations uncovered the group’s intrusion into the accounts of some private corporations.
Although the CIDG has been successful in raiding seven of the group’s illegal online casinos, the country’s capacity to counter cyber crime has not improved. There are also reports that Filipinos are being used as “e-mules” for their transnational money laundering and credit card fraud operations. It seems that these criminals can get around Philippine laws so easily that they prefer to build their refuge there than in other countries.
