The Department of Justice (DoJ) and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) have signed an information-sharing agreement to strengthen the investigation and prosecution of financial account scams under the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA).

The agreement allows the BSP to refer scam complaints and incident reports directly to the DoJ for evaluation, investigation and possible prosecution under Republic Act 12010, or the AFASA.

Under the arrangement, the DoJ’s Office of Cybercrime will also have a secure mechanism to obtain financial account information from the BSP’s Consumer Account Protection Office to support investigations.

The agencies said the agreement is intended to speed up referrals, improve access to relevant financial information and help authorities trace bank accounts used in cyber fraud and other financial scams.

Among the schemes targeted are SIM swap fraud, in which criminals take control of a victim’s mobile phone number to intercept one-time passwords and gain access to bank accounts, and ayuda scams, in which fraudsters pose as government personnel offering fake financial assistance to steal personal information.

The partnership also aims to identify bank accounts and syndicates involved in digital financial fraud through closer coordination between the two agencies.

Justice Undersecretary Nicholas Felix Ty, representing Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida, signed the agreement with BSP General Counsel Roberto Figueroa, representing BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr., at the BSP head office in Manila.

Ty said the agreement strengthens the government’s campaign against financial account scams by improving interagency coordination and information sharing.

“It reinforces a whole-of-government approach to combating financial account scams through enhanced interagency coordination and information sharing,” he said.