CICC, GCash sign agreement to ramp up fight against fraud

Further cementing its long-standing commitment to provide Filipinos with secure and safe digital financial services, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordination Center (CICC) has signed an agreement with the country’s number one finance app, GCash, to intensify its campaign against online fraud and scams.

Under the agreement, GCash will continue to collaborate with CICC, leverage their capabilities, synergize efforts in combating cybercrime activities, and improve cyber capabilities and resilience while accelerating digitization initiatives in line with its vision of “Finance for All.”.

The MOA signing ceremony was graced by  Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Ivan John Uy, who emphasized that the CICC, which is an agency under the DICT, and GCash will synergize their strengths to become “futurists” that will work together to protect Filipinos by preempting the activities of cybercriminals.

The partnership between the CICC and GCash, he said, is “a strong signal to the whole community and to cyber criminals that we are not sitting back, that we will be aggressive in securing the money that the public has entrusted to us, and that we will actively, diligently, and relentlessly run after cybercriminals, whoever they may be, and bring them to justice.”

Joining Sec. Uy in signing the agreement were CICC  Undersecretary  Alexander Ramos and   Retired Supreme Court Justice Andres Reyes, Jr., GCash Head of New Businesses, Corporate Affairs, and Sustainability Winsley Bangit, GCash Chief Legal Officer Atty. Maria Corazon Alvarez-Adriano and GCash Legal Head Atty. Gilbert A. Escoto.

In his speech, Usec. Ramos urged the victims of online scams to immediately file a report with GCash and the CICC, “not on social media.”.

This, said Ramos, will mobilize the rapid incident response mechanism made possible by the partnership between GCash and the CICC so that the public can be properly protected in time and prevent scammers from getting more victims. The undersecretary also urged the public to reach out to the government’s 24/7 anti-scam response hotline in case of suspected scams by dialing 1326.

Through its continuous cooperation with authorities, GCash has blocked over 4 million fraudulent accounts and taken down 810 phishing sites and 45,000 malicious social media posts and accounts in 2023.

A strong alliance with government agencies like the CICC, said Bangit,  is a big boost to creating a safer digital ecosystem for  Filipinos, especially as they transact online. “We are honored to stand shoulder to shoulder with you in the pursuit of a safer and more just society,” he added.

In her closing remarks, Atty.  Alvarez-Adriano said that in the ongoing integration of digital technologies with the support of public sector agencies like the CICC, “GCash is poised for a state-of-the-art, stable, and inclusive financial system that will support the  economic growth of the country.”