Senior Citizens Fraud Education Act

TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES AUG -5 P4:01 First Regular Session ) SENATE RECEIVED SY S. No. _ Introduced by Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada AN ACT EDUCATING THE PUBLIC, SENIOR CITIZENS, THEIR FAMILIES AND THEIR CAREGIVERS ON IDENTIFYING AND PREVENTING FRAUDULENT ACTIVITIES TARGETING SENIOR CITIZENS EXPLANATORY NOTE In 2019, a 67-year old widow lost P8 million in a "love scam," where a foreign national who introduced himself as a Filipino contractor and fabricated stories to solicit money from the victim, while banking on their alleged "romantic, virtual relationship". 1 This is just one of the many criminal cases preying on the elderly. In November 2021, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) alerted the public about the rampant "love scams" and "budol-budol" schemes amid the pandemic. NBI warned about the alarming 100% increase in cybercrime cases being reported to them, and most of the targets are retired senior citizens.? In the recent distribution of financial assistance to senior citizens, there was a rise in the number of perpetrators of text messages and online scams. To them, the 1 https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1190655/nigerian-nabbed-over-alleged-p8-m-online-scam 2 "NBI reminds seniors to beware of 'love scams,' 'budol-budol' amid pandemic. November 23, 2021. https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/scitech/technologv/811914/nbi-reminds-seniors-to-beware-of-love- scams-budol-budol-amid-pandemic/story/

senior citizens are the perfect victims because they are unsuspecting, vulnerable, and not tech-savvy. To protect the senior citizens from being victimized by these schemes, the National Commission of Senior Citizens issued on April 2, 2024 a public advisory giving warning against phishing websites targeting senior citizens. An article entitled, "Senior scam-dales: Beware of con-artists targeting the elderly" published on June 19, 2024, quoted an explanation of the National Council on Aging of the United States that senior citizens are targeted preys of scammers because they are believed to have plenty of money in bank. These schemes are "devastating to many older adults and can leave them in a vulnerable position, with limited ability to recover their losses". 4 According to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) which releases an annual report on Elder Frauds, there are various schemes being employed by scammers targeting elder citizens: • Romance Scam: Criminals pose as interested romantic partners on social media or dating websites to capitalize on their elderly victims' desire to find companions. • Tech support scam: Criminals pose as technology support representatives and offer to fix non-existent computer issues. The scammers gain remote access to victims' devices and sensitive information. • Grandparent scam: A type of confidence scam where criminals pose as a relative usually a child or grandchild-claiming to be in immediate financial need. • Government impersonation scam: Criminals pose as government employees and threaten to arrest or prosecute victims unless they agree to provide funds or other payments. 3 PUBLIC ADVISORY: Beware of Phishing Website Targeting the Senior Citizens 4 https://mb.com.ph/2024/6/19/senior-scam-dals 5 Elder Fraud - FBI

• Sweepstakes / charity / lottery scam: Criminals claim to work for legitimate charitable organizations to gain victims' trust. Or they claim their targets have won a foreign lottery or sweepstake, which they can collect for a "fee". • Home repair scam: Criminals appear in person and charge homeowners in advance for home improvement services that they never provide. • TV / radio scam: Criminals target potential victims using illegitimate advertisements about legitimate services, such as reverse mortgages or credit repair. • Family / caregiver scam: Relatives or acquaintances of the elderly victims take advantage of them or otherwise get their money. This measure aims to protect our senior citizens against fraudulent activities through proactive and centralized information and education campaigns. Considering that most of the elderly consumers are unfamiliar with today's technology and the organized crime syndicates are taking advantage of the general public's heightened use of social media and virtual platforms, there is a need to look after the vulnerable sectors against scammers and fraudsters. In light of the foregoing, the approval of this measure is highly recommended. JINGGOY EJERCITO ESTRADA

Silur Mi TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE ) REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 25 AUG -5 P4:01 First Regular Session SENATE RECEIVED EY: S. No. 938 Introduced by Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada AN ACT EDUCATING THE PUBLIC, SENIOR CITIZENS, THEIR FAMILIES AND THEIR CAREGIVERS ON IDENTIFYING AND PREVENTING FRAUDULENT ACTIVITIES TARGETING SENIOR CITIZENS Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

Section 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the " Senior Citizens' Fraud

2 Education Act".

Sec. 2. Centralized Service for Consumer Education on Mail, Telemarketing, and

Internet Fraud Targeting Senior Citizens. - (A) Requirement. - The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), after consultation with the Department of Justice (DO]), the Department of Health (DOH) and the Philippine Postal Corporation, shall: (1) periodically disseminate to senior citizens, and families and caregivers of senior citizens, general information on mail, telemarketing, and internet fraud targeting seniors, including descriptions of the most common fraud schemes; (2) periodically disseminate to senior citizens, and families and caregivers of seniors, information on methods available to report fraud targeting seniors, such as:

(a) referring complaints to law enforcement agencies, including the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI); and, (b) calling a telephone number established by the DTI for reporting mail, telemarketing and internet fraud. (3) in response to a specific request by a party to the DTI inquiring about any history of fraud committed by a particular entity or individual, provide to such party any publicly available information on any record of law enforcement action for fraud against such entity or individual by the DTI, and by any other agency that reports such actions to the DTI; and, (4) maintain a website to serve as a resource for information for senior citizens, and families and caregivers of senior citizens, regarding mail, telemarketing, and internet fraud targeting senior citizens. (B) Procedures and Commencement. - The DTI shall establish and implement procedures to carry out the requirements of paragraph (A), including procedures: (1) with respect to the frequency and mode of dissemination of information; and, (2) that provide for the implementation of the requirements of such paragraph not later than one (1) year after the date of the effectivity of this Act.

Sec. 3. Coordination and Partnership with Government Agencies. - The DTI

shall coordinate and establish partnerships with the National Commission of Senior Citizens and the Office of Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) of local government units in conducting information dissemination campaigns and in order to fully implement the provisions of this Act. The DTI shall also collaborate with the following government agencies: a) Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) - with respect to fraud and scams related to products and services of BSP-regulated financial institutions; b) Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Insurance Commission - with respect to fraud and scams related to lending and investment instruments and insurance products; and

c) National Telecommunications Commission - with respect to text scams and Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) card fraud; and d) National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Philippine National Police (PNP) and Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) - for other fraudulent activities and cybercrimes.

Sec. 4. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part hereof is held invalid or

unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision or part not otherwise affected shall remain valid and subsisting.

Sec. 5. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive

order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule, or regulation contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, modified, or amended accordingly.

Sec. 6. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its

publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. Approved,