RACU Cordillera takes cyber safety awareness to Baguio bus terminals

BAGUIO CITY —Police Officers from the Regional Anti-cybercrime Unit Cordillera (RACU COR) led by Chief Ma. Theresa Guinto-Pucay on Tuesday, August 1, 2023, distributed USB flash drives with informative video materials on Anti-cybercrime tips to various bus terminals in Baguio City.

According to RACU COR, the distribution of informative video materials started last month and has been completed on Tuesday.

The video graphics materials explain how cybercriminals commonly target ICT or smartphone users, and provide effective ways to address these tactics. The topics covered include:

•Romance Scam. The criminal poses as a rich or influential foreigner who offers to send a package to his or her victim, but before the item gets delivered, the victim must settle a huge amount of taxes and fees with the Bureau of Customs.

•Transient House Scam. The criminal pretends to be the owner of a transient house in the City and offers discounts to his/her victim, but upon paying the reservation and before the victim even arrives in the City, he/she can no longer contact the “transient house owner”.

•Investment Scam. Similar to Ponzi scams, criminals use social media posts and advertisements to attract their victims. They offer a get-rich-quick scheme that initially pays, but when the victim has already invested a lot, he/she may encounter problems receiving his/her commissions.

•Tasking Scam. This is a syndicated modus committed by multiple individuals who offer easy online jobs where the task escalates from simply liking and following social media accounts to investing huge amounts of money with a very promising reward. However, in order to withdraw his/her invested money and earned commissions, the victim needs to pay a series of fees and penalties.

• Video Call “Bidyakol” Modus. The victim receives a random message from someone who is especially attractive and offers to do explicit acts during their video call. Unknowingly, the victim’s video was already recorded and the criminal threatens publication of such video(s) if the victim does not pay for its deletion.

As part of the PNP’s anti-cybercrime awareness campaign, the initiative aimed to inform and warn travelers about the various methods employed by modern-day criminals to prey on victims.

Additionally, the police officers encouraged the management of each bus line to replicate the videos in their other bus units.

This measure ensures that more people are reached while traveling to and from the city, expanding the impact of the awareness campaign.

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