ILOILO City – Local government units (LGUs) play a crucial role in cybercrime prevention, according to Atty. Christopher Hernandez, supervising agent of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Region 6.
They are familiar with the people in their areas, making it easy to conduct information campaigns and monitor suspicious activities, said Hernandez.
LGUs can get help from residents in terms of monitoring, especially on suspicious individuals who have fast internet connection and who seldom go out of their houses.
Hernandez even encouraged LGUs to investigate.
“There’s nothing wrong about investigating,” he stressed.
Minors are the most common victims of cybercrime, specifically cybersex, according to the NBI.
This is why parents should always teach their children “internet discipline,” said Hernandez.
Last Friday, NBI Region 6 personnel served as resource persons in the “Seminar on Cybercrime Law” conducted by the city’s Human Resource and Development Office.
Over 30 selected city hall employees were briefed about the salient points of Republic Act 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012), common modus operandi of cybercrime perpetrators, common crimes committed through the internet, and social media scams.
“We would like to conduct proactive cyber security lecture to help [people] protect their accounts, avoid being victimized by scams and cyber criminals,” Hernandez said.
In the Philippines, the most common kinds of cybercrimes are libel, photo and video voyeurism, and scams.
“Be careful on uploading your personal information on Facebook or over the internet because it can be used as a tool. Most of the time, ordinary internet users use password based on personal information,” Hernandez said, encouraging responsible social media use.
If help is needed, anyone can always approach the NBI or the cybercrime group of the Philippine National Police – they are “equipped and competent to (cybercrime) handle cases, Hernandez added. (With a report from PNA/PN)
