15 hours ago
2
They're still at it.
Despite the government's imposition of SIM card registration a couple of years ago, designed to curb cybercriminal activities, including trolling, money muling, and online disinformation, these unlawful, surreptitious activities persist and have increased tremendously.
Yes, Virginia, money muling and particularly online fake news or misinformation flourished in the last two weeks following the March 11 arrest and the transport of former President Duterte to The Hague.
The authorities are closely monitoring persons and/or vloggers behind the sustained and unabated spread of online misinformation in all social media platforms—Facebook (FB), Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, Threads—who could face charges of cyber libel and inciting to sedition.
While social platforms serve as tools for connection, in my view, they also harbor a dark side: the facilitation of money muling, a type of money laundering that involves transferring or receiving illicit funds on behalf of a third party.
As an economic journalist, I believe that money muling is a growing problem in our interconnected world, with serious legal and financial repercussions for those who get caught up in these schemes.
The reach and influence provided by social media have given scammers a potent channel to reach their intended targets, most likely those who are young, financially strapped, or dangerously uninformed about the dangers of money muling.
Unsuspecting netizens fall prey to this activity because social media has woven itself intricately into the fabric of our daily lives, fast becoming our primary means of communication, information sharing, and networking.
Remember, we have been tagged as the social media capital of the world, largely due to our extraordinarily high usage time, which averages three hours daily.
Here in the Philippines, where social media penetration is exceptionally high according to international monitors, new laws such as the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act recognize the need to crack down on financial fraud by implementing stricter penalties for those caught facilitating these illicit transfers. It is designed to discourage individuals from participating in these schemes, knowingly or otherwise, by raising awareness of the serious consequences involved.
For me, legislation alone is not enough. Educating the public, especially young people and frequent social media users, about the tactics that fraudsters use is essential to curbing this problem.
The widespread reach of social media, as well as its culture of trust and empathy, along with its anonymous or semi-private nature, unfortunately makes it fertile ground for fraudsters seeking to exploit vulnerable individuals.
Empathy, for me, is one of the keywords here. I would have fallen into the trap again over the weekend, but the December cloning incident, where the perpetrator asked FB friends for money, came to mind.
The perpetrator cloned the FB account of a friend, requesting me to support her grandchild in his school painting contest through online voting by accessing a website that would in turn give me a numerical code for my WhatsApp.
Of course, I was more prudent and careful this time around.
And, if each of us—netizens—remains vigilant, continues to question requests, and, more importantly, understands the risks involved in utilizing the internet, then we can all create a digital environment that is as safe as it is connected.
Talkback to me at [email protected]
