PH cybercrime agency: Violent extremism a 'clear and present danger' to youth

MANILA – The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) on Wednesday flagged Nihilistic Violent Extremism (NVE) as a "clear and present danger" to Filipino youth, as the agency prepares to set new policies to address the threat.

In a televised interview over Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon, CICC Undersecretary Aboy Paraiso said Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Robert Joseph "Jay" de Claro has directed the CICC to convene this Friday to tackle the issue.

"[De Claro] considers this a clear and present danger na nandito na talaga ang NVEs at kailangan nating tutukan ‘to dahil ang binibiktima nito iyong mga kabataan natin (The Secretary considers this a clear and present danger; the NVEs are really here and we need to focus on this because our youth are the ones being victimized)," Paraiso said.

The council, chaired by the DICT Secretary, includes the National Bureau of Investigation, Philippine National Police, Department of Justice and private sector partners from the academe and non-government organizations.

The meeting aims to formulate new policies against cybercrime and NVE.

Holiday scams

Meanwhile, Paraiso warned the public against a surge in scams this holiday season, noting that shopping, delivery and romance or "love scams" traditionally increase during the Christmas season.

"Tayo mga Pilipino, kapag Pasko, nagsha-shopping tayo para sa mga mahal natin sa buhay. Gustung-gusto natin mga discount na buy one take 10, 80-percent discount, ayan. Too good to be true diyan tayo madadali niyan (We Filipinos, when it's Christmas, we shop for our loved ones. We love discounts like buy one take 10, 80-percent discount, there. We get caught by things that are too good to be true)," he said.

To counter this, the CICC will launch its "12 Scams of Christmas" campaign in the coming days to educate the public on red flags and what to do if victimized.

He also urged the public to remember the "Four M's" to avoid falling victim: maging mapagmatyag (be vigilant), mang-snub (ignore suspicious calls), maging madamot sa impormasyon (be stingy with personal information and one-time passwords), and mag-report (report incidents to authorities to save potential future victims).

Philippine News Agency