PNP SIBIA: broadcasting

anti-cyber scam tips

You feel your chest tighten as you let pity get the best of you while reading the story behind the heavily-bandaged patient lying in a hospital bed, tubes running out of his mouth. Imbedded in the picture is a GCash number, purportedly for donations from kind individuals, like you.

Your kind heart melts and you want to give some cash.

But, what if everything there is just made up so a scammer can take your money?

Do not give as yet, warns Bohol’s Cyber Response Team leader and digital forensics expert Police Lieutenant Aileen Marie Remedio, adding that a scam uses exactly the same modus to bleed people of their hard-earned money.

Lt. Remedio, a relatively small lady police officer who cane can easily be mistaken as a college student, guested the weekly Strategic Information Broadcasting in Internet and other Access (SIBIA) to share information about online scams, the leading cyber-crime victimizing innocent Boholanos, divesting them of cash.

SIBIA is a regular broadcast event of the Bohol Provincial Police Office, is an innovation for the Provincial Police Community Affairs and Development Unit (PCADU) under Police Lieutenant Colonel Norman Nuez, who is the program anchor along with police beat-box king Police Corporal Aldrin Palaca.

IN NEED OF MONEY SCAM

Tackling cyber scamming, to increase awareness and get people informed to be protected, Remedios on SIBIA bared that among the most common is “in need for money scam,” a ploy that has hackers stealing internet-posted pictures of patients and claiming them as relatives helping the patient get treatment.

First, it is an identity theft, the patient does not even know his situation is used to fool people of their money, she shared.

The GCash number is often that of the hacker’s controlled number, the money sent does not necessarily help the patient.

TASK SCAM

She said another popular modus is “Task Scam,” which often victimizes Internet users of WhatsAPP and Telegram applications.

If you are a user of these said apps, somebody randomly messages you and offers you commissions for completed tasks, she shared.

It is too irresistible, you would be asked to watch videos, share content, like and comment, and you could get some commissions, she explained.

The catch comes when the pay-off comes. This entails linking the person’s GCash to a website, where at first, small commissions are received.

When the website has access to the GCash account, the website then asks for recharging, where the internet user is asked to invest, to get a bigger commission. When he invests, the website is usually taken down, and the investment along with it.

A total of about P400k has been lost from Boholanos, using this modus, the digital investigator said.

BUY AND SELL ONLINE

Another online scam, Buy and Sell involves too good to be true goods sold and bought online which usually entails electronic payments.

You see an item you love. What is more is that it is sold online at a tempting price cut, but the only payment option is through credit card or electronic-money. Be wary.

Saying these are signs that a rip-off is in the offing, she warned.

As soon as your payment is consummated, the item, or the seller’s address is taken down, leaving the buyer without any chance to get his money back.

Cash on delivery is usually preferred, she advanced the information.

This also provides a venue to check on the delivered item and return them if these are not the ones you ordered, she continued.

Also a variation of this is delivery scam, where innocent individuals get deliveries they need to pay, something they did not order. This usually happens, when the supposed addressee is not home, that members of the household pay for the items in good faith, to realize later that, not only did they get useless items, the delivery fee was also wasted.

LOTTERY SCAM

Often victimizing those who have no or little knowledge of technology, this entails getting a text message informing the victims that she won a huge amount.

The catch however is that she would have to pay a certain processing fee, clearing fee, which is always a small fraction of the winnings.

A recent modus expands the scam by putting in a deadline when the winnings can be claimed, forcing the innocent victim to quickly source out the money for processing.

The scammer then asks the money to be sent through money transfer, and is often claimed via money remittance centers that do not demand valid identifications and other extra layer of security for customer satisfaction.

LOVE OR ROMANCE SCAM

This kind of scam often victimizes those who frequent dating sites, the young official explained.

Filipinas who are dreaming of the life marrying the rich foreigner often gets to this, as many scammers pose themselves as the typical foreigner, stealing profile pictures and building a network of personalities to validate the claim.

As soon as a relationship starts, the scamming also shifts to money.

Usually, the fiancée in collusion with other scammers, notify the victims that a package has arrived and is now being held for some unpaid tax duties.

The tax is usually a quarter of the entire cost of the alleged arriving package, making it irresistible for the recipient to pay the duties.

As the payment is sent, they are then notified that the package contains illegally shipped items and has to be confiscated.

WHAT TO DO IN CASE OF SCAMS?

According to Lt Remedio, the first step to avoid being victims is to be aware and vigilant.

1. Do not give out any personal information, especially when these are one time passwords, to anyone. A shared OTP means giving the person access to your accounts, which can be opened though the password remotely.

2. Create very strong passwords for your accounts and hide them so nobody else can access these. A strong password is always a combination of capital and small letters, numbers and special characters.

3. Do not click on suspicious links. Clicking on spurious links can allow unwittingly allow the clicked site to access your personal data, which can be used to hack your system, get to your friends and contacts.

4. Do not leave your personal social media accounts logged in when using a public computer, log them out when you are not using it. Not logging out allows the next person using your computer to get into your account. Always protect your accounts.

5. When somebody borrows you money through text or messenger, call the person, or wait until you can personally check on the veracity of the need.

6. Do not post your mobile numbers on facebook or any social media sites, this is an invitation for scammers.

7. Report any suspicious scamming attempt to your nearest police station, or to the BCRT at camp Dagohoy.

Over all these, Lt Remedio urges every one to be smart and to be careful online. (PIABohol)

BE SMART ONLINE. PLt Aileen Marie Remedio urges Boholanos to be always vigilant online and protect their social media accounts as these are being used by scammers to divest people of their hard earned money. At SIBIA anchored by PLCol Norman Nuez and PCpl Aldrin Palaca, Remedio also shared most common modus operandi for cyber-scamming. (PIABohol)

Bohol’s livelihood grants

portfolio for coops, P50M

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol Jan 26 (PIA) –From the Deparment of Labor and Employment funds for its livelihood and emergency employment alone, Boholano organizations and cooperatives can look up to a portfolio of assistance reaching a maximum of P50M.

The information came about during the recent Kapihan sa PIA, where the Provincial Cooperative Development Office (PCDO) livelihood coordinator for DOLE Integrated Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program (DILEEP) shared the development following local efforts to help people who profess to help themselves and organize into help groups.

PCDO DILEEP livelihood coordinator for Bohol, Estrellita Verenio said that the office, which was set up a year ago, was Governor Erico Aristotle Aumentado’s idea after his congressional discretion then facilitated for the release of DOLE livelihood assistance funds to cooperatives and people’s organizations in his district.

Seeing the initiative as working well, Aumentado brought the idea to the Capitol and one of his first few acts upn assumption to office was to create a province-wide cooperative development office manned by community organizers, former non-government organization workers and national government liaisons, all primed to hand-hold cooperatives and organizations seeking for additional income and employment, Verenio explained.

With decades of NGO work under her belt, Verenio took on the DILEEP coordination since last year and successfully released P7.8 M worth of assistance to cooperative and people’s organizations of the first and the third district in Bohol.

From the second district where she continues to liaise after her service under the congressional office of the now, new governor, Verenio has facilitated the release of P 8.5 M livelihood and employment generation assistance from DILEEP.

This year, the governor sought from DOLE some P30M in DILEEP assistance grants to Boholano organizations and cooperatives, while the Capitol is also putting up another P20 M in counterparts funds, she shared.

With DILEEP, as the government gives livelihood grants, but this thrives on fund leveraging strategy, that cooperatives and peoples organizations tapping the livelihood fund has to put up an equivalent of 20% of the grant amount, this can be in the form of assets like buildings, labor counterpart and some cash for operational expenses, Verenio said.

As grants, organizations and cooperative beneficiaries, only need to properly liquidate the full amount of the check as released, and based on the bill they listed on their project proposals, she added.

Beyond that, the chance to get another tranche of help can depend on the success of the initial fund release, Verenio who came to Kapihan sa PIA with officers of two assisted cooperatives revealed.

Alburquerque Tricycle Drivers Association President Antonio Labunog, said his organization started with 15-18 members, and now they are 35.

Organized despite getting downplayed by local government officials, Labunog said that they proposed for a motorcycle parts and repair services including vulcanizing shop operations, which the DILEEP granted.

We are happy with the assistance, and of course with the PCDO through the livelihood coordinator who is always with us in every step of the way, even helping us with the accreditation, Labunog said.

Now with a parts store and vulcanizing shop in town, their members can easily get spare parts and ply the streets of the town anytime, without the hassle, attested John Oliveros, the organizations secretary.

He also said Verenio helped them with their accreditation with DOLE, to access the help.

On the other hand, Asenso Panginabuhian sa Isla Panggapasan Association (APIPA) project manager Elvie Baculao said when they organized the marginal fishermen of the island, some 5 kilometers off the port of Tubigon, their members fishermen need not stop going out to sea anymore, as they can now secure fishing supplies and repair kits at a cheaper price from their newly established fishing supplies store.

Granted with P500K livelihood assistance for purchase of fishing supplies, APIPA has operated barely three months and have grossed P300K in sales, Baculao said.

Thank you governor for the help from the PCDO, we would never have imagined how we can get all this blessings without the facilitation and the government help, she summed. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)

FOR PEOPLE HELPING THEMSELVES. PCDO livelihood coordinator for DILEEP Estrellita Verenio explained that the DOLE assistance to coops can only be accessed when people realize that they can not just sit and wait for help to come, that they need to organize, show effort and plan for everyone to improve their lots. (PIABohol)

HAPPY FOR THE HELP. Organizations benefitting from the DILEEP include Asenso Panginabuhian sa Isla Panggapasan Association (APIPA); a marginal fishermen’s association who sought for a fishing supplies store in the island managed by Elvie Baculao (second from left) and Alburquerque Tricycle Drivers Association’s motorcycle spare parts and vulcanizing shop under Antonio Labunog (extreme right) with secretary John Oliveros (extreme left) thanks Governor Aumentado for expanding a congressional program facilitating help for sectors, through Estrellita Verenio (third from left). (PIABohol)

EDC to supply cheaper

Geo-power to Bohol

CORTES, Bohol, Jan 27 (PIA)—With prices of power sourced out from fossil fuels most likely to continue soaring in the next years, there is a brighter hope for Bohol.

This as the Energy Development Corporation (EDC), the country’s premier diversified renewable and sustainable energy company from the Lopez group of companies, is now poised to sign the documents to sign a supply contract for about 50 megawatts of power to Bohol.

EDC Corporate Public Relations Department Head of the Leyte Geothermal Facility Erwin Magallanes, during an event with Bohol Media Thursday, revealed the development, as distribution utilities (DU) in Bohol are set to sign another service supply contract.

The re-entry of geothermal energy-sourced power for Bohol means a lower costs as reflected in the consumer’s monthly bill, as compared to the more expensive power sourced out from coal or diesel.

At present, Bohol’s Distribution Utilities are getting a huge amount of coal-generated power mixed with other sources as monthly bills reflect generation companies as Cebu Energy Development Corporation, and GN Power which are supplying power from coal-fired plants, EIMOP, JHEP (hydro) and SMEC (Hybrid).

According to the Department of Energy (DOE) which governs the power supply procurement processes of DUs to their service areas, Department Circular No. 2018-02-0003 prescribes the policy in the conduct of Competitive Selection Process (CSP) in the Procurement by the Distribution Utilities of Power Supply Agreement for the Captive Market.

This is so that it promotes the needs of [zc1] consumers as presented in the DUs Distribution Development Plan (DDPs) and Power Supply Procurement Plans (PSPPs).

This also assures that the DU follows transparency and technology neutrality in considering lowest possible cost and the reliability of the energy service.

Part of the CSP is the disclosure of the generation company to supply the needs, has the capacity to meet the demands needed at any given time.

The EDC, which has over 40 years of pioneering sustainable practices, used to be the world’s biggest renewable energy produce, is still the Philippines’ leading 100% renewable energy producer with an installed capacity of 1,480.19 MW.

This Accounts for about 20% of the country’s total installed renewable energy capacity.

With EDC’s Ormoc and Malitbog Geothermal Plants in Leyte, the power generation company would be getting from its geothermal facilities the more stable-priced supply for Bohol.

Compared to fossil fuel produced power, consumers’ bills would include the pass-on rate, which is the generation company’s manner of dampening the added energy production cost brought about by the fluctuating cost of the fuel like diesel or coal in the world market and the transport costs.

This adds up to the power cost reflected in the consumer’s monthly bills, whereas with geothermal energy sourced-out power, the price is fixed for the five years of contract, explains Magallanes. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)

CHEAPER SUPPLY. EDC’s corporate public relations department chief Erwin Magallanes revealed that the geothermal energy supplier from Leyte is set to supply about 50 megawatts of power to Bohol as soon as the deal is formalized anytime soon. Geothermal energy, owing to its stable cost of production, makes cost adjustments every five years, unlike coal-energy which fluctuates everytime according to world market price and transportation costs. (PIABohol)