Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 22) — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Thursday that while the government has beefed up measures against online lenders and scammers, the country’s “best defense” is a conscious public.
“It’s basically an arms race but our best defense is a knowledgeable consumer who can see for themselves, and determine for themselves those that are legitimate offers as supposed to a scam,” he said on the sidelines of the 85th anniversary of the Securities and Exchange Commission in Makati City.
Marcos also warned the public against falling prey to offers that are “too good to be true.”
“There is no such thing as 100% risk-free. There is no way to guarantee this enormous return on what they are claiming, on the money that you give them,” he said.
Filipinos have been dealing with scam attempts by criminals, with fraudsters now tapping technologies to secure the victims’ personal information and money.
Last year, mounting reports of text scams prompted lawmakers to push for the passage of SIM Registration.
“The SIM Card registration, I think, was a big step. I think we are getting to the point where we have disposed of or taken out of the system many of the SIM cards that have not been registered because they have been used for illegal purposes and for these scams that we have been hearing about,” Marcos said.
