As the Christmas season is coming near, the Philippine National Police (PNP) has intensified its efforts to combat the rise of online shopping scams and fake delivery schemes.

Acting PNP Chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said that the move comes after a noticeable uptrend in online fraud reports over recent weeks.

“It is a big threat right now. Every Christmas season, there’s an increase in fraud cases, but this year scammers have become more aggressive, especially online,” he explained in Filipino.

“The PNP is on alert to protect our communities from these digital and delivery-related crimes,” he added.

As part of the police initiative to counter the rise of scams, Nartatez ordered the PNP Anti Cybercrime Group (CG) to increase the monitoring of known scam hotspots, fake websites, and suspicious online sellers.

The ACG deployed their “holiday special patrols,”  which are focused on tracking phishing attempts, fraud advertisements, and emerging threats in social media and e-commerce platforms.

“Based on our monitoring, the usual right now is the online shopping scams, fake delivery parcels, phishing links, and impersonation schemes,” the Acting police chief said.

The said scam involved a parcel being sent to the target victim despite not ordering anything, and some are hiding on way too good but enticing online deals.

Under the heightened campaign, the PNP is prioritizing entrapment operations against syndicates behind the parcel delivery scams, bogus online sellers, phishing networks, and SIM/OTP harvesting attempts.

According to Nartatez, they are looking at possible links of local fraud groups to a much bigger foreign crime ring. As part of their strengthened initiative, PNP coordinates with major courier companies, online marketplaces, and payment service providers.

The public is also urged to report suspicious parcels or online accounts through the unified 911 system for immediate verification.

“Don’t be impulsive on way too good deals. If you have doubts, step away first,” Nartatez said.