DOJ, BSP team up to crack down on bank scams under AFASA
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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).
Under the agreement, the BSP will refer scam reports to the DOJ, while the DOJ will gain access to secure financial account information through the BSP to help trace cyber fraud.
The DOJ will evaluate, investigate, and take appropriate action on complaints, incident reports and other information involving suspected financial account scams under Republic Act No. 12010, or AFASA.
The partnership establishes a faster referral mechanism, allowing the BSP to directly transmit complaints and incident reports to the DOJ for evaluation and possible legal action.
To support investigations, the DOJ's Office of Cybercrime (OOC) may request relevant financial account information through the BSP's Consumer Account Protection Office.
The joint initiative aims to identify bank accounts and criminal syndicates involved in digital financial fraud.
Among the schemes targeted are SIM swap fraud, in which criminals hijack a victim's mobile number to intercept one-time passwords (OTPs) and gain unauthorized access to bank accounts, and fake ayuda scams, in which fraudsters pose as government representatives offering financial assistance to steal personal and banking information.
DOJ Undersecretary Nicholas Felix L. Ty, representing Justice Secretary Fredderick A. Vida, signed the agreement with BSP General Counsel Roberto L. Figueroa, who signed on behalf of BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona Jr., during a ceremony at the BSP head office in Manila.
The partnership is expected to strengthen coordination between the two agencies by enabling faster access to relevant information and improving investigations into financial account scams.
Ty said the agreement reinforces the government's whole-of-government approach to combating financial account scams through enhanced interagency coordination and information sharing.
