Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 4) — A bill punishing bank hackers and card fraudsters with life imprisonment will soon become a law after the Senate approved the measure Monday night.
Voting 20-0, the chamber approved House Bill 6710 or changes to the Access Devices Regulation Act of 1998. The measure imposes stiffer penalties for bank hacking and skimming of access devices, or simply credit and debit cards, as punishable acts.
The Senate adopted the House version, doing away with the need to go into a bicameral conference. The bill can be sent straight to Malacañang for President Rodrigo Duterte’s signing into law.
The measure declares that exploiting bank cards is a form of economic sabotage — a “heinous” crime which shall be “punishable to the maximum level allowed by law.”
The proposed law declares hacking and skimming, or the copying of information on a bank card to illegally obtain data or money, as criminal offenses.
The minimum sanction would be four to six years in prison plus a fine worth twice the value of the illegally-obtained amount from using someone else’s credit card.
The punishment goes up to 20 years in jail and a fine of at least ₱500,000 for those who own at least 10 skimming devices and accessed at least one bank account through fraud. Those with skimming gadgets but were not proven to have tapped into a bank account will face a six to 12 years jail time and a ₱300,000 penalty.
Meanwhile, life imprisonment plus a fine of ₱1 million up to ₱5 million await those caught hacking into bank systems or skimming at least 50 or more online bank accounts, debit, credit, or automated teller machine cards.
READ: Hackers steal millions from ATMs without using a card
The measure also requires all banks, card issuers and stores accepting card payments to carry out initial investigation on any reported fraud incidents. They must provide “real-time reports” to the National Bureau of Investigation and the Anti-Cybercrime Group of the Philippine National Police, as well as identification of the perpetrator, if possible. These establishments may also be compelled to cooperate in investigations and provide data as needed.
Senators saw the need to catch up with the rapid development of technology which are now being used to commit financial fraud.
READ: From debit cards to decoy apps, fraudsters getting more advanced, BDO warns
