THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is optimistic that the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act or AFASA Bill could hurdle the Senate in May this year.
BSP senior assistant governor Elmore Capule told reporters that the bill is set for a second committee hearing in the Senate.
“Senator (Mark) Villar said by May daw kaya… Nag-committee hearing na kasi kami sa Senate last week… Sa lahat ng um-attend – may PNP, BAP (Bankers Association of the Philippines) – they agreed,” Capule said.
The AFASA Bill is among the 20 priority bills identified earlier by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC).
It aims to address cybercrimes as it criminalizes attacks like phishing and other acts such as being a money mule, social engineering schemes, and economic sabotage.
BSP data showed top cyber-incidents in 2022 involved card-not-present fraud, phishing and variations, and account takeover or identity theft.
Some 5,211 incidents of card-not-present fraud were recorded wherein victims’ credit card number, personal information, and card’s three-digit security code got stolen.
Meanwhile, phishing complaints reported to the BSP reached 6,295 incidents totaling to an amount of P623 million.
Under the AFASA bill, the central bank will have the authority to investigate cases deemed illegal under the proposed bill.
It will also empower the BSP to apply for cybercrime warrants and seek assistance from law enforcement agencies in the enforcement and implementation of warrants.
Despite existing bank secrecy laws, the AFASA bill will allow the BSP limited authority to look into financial accounts suspected to be involved in illegal acts.
Analysts have said it could help improve the country’s defenses against financial crimes as well as help with the efforts to exit the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list. (ABS-CBN News)
