Sen. Villar Warns Those Who Use Her Name and Their Foundations in Scams

Text scams and social media post using prominent names of public officials or government offices are not new in our country.

Common names being used in scams are the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office or PCSO and the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas allegedly that the receiver of the text messages has won a big prize.

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But PCSO and the BSP are not only the victim, just recently, Senator Cynthia Villar has warned the public against text messages and social media post that using her name or her family's foundation for scams.

Aside from being a senator, Villar is a director of Villar Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation or Villar SIPAG.

She urged the public not to fall for misleading messages and post that use the foundation to scam or swindle people.

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She cited a certain Facebook page named “Villar Foundation Libreng Pabahay 2018” which invited social media users to like and share its page to qualify for a supposed raffle house on December 31, 2017. 

The original post, however, has been deleted.

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She said the scam started in 2010 and they encountered the same in 2013. The purpose she believed is to malign their family and their foundation.

With this, she urges the public to report immediately the said activity to their office, with the contact details found on its website www.villarSIPAG.org.

Villar added, they already coordinated with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to investigate the said modus.

“We are seriously looking into these malicious and misleading text message and online posts. There are legal remedies and we will not hesitate to use them,” she said.

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SIM CARD REGISTRATION ACT

GATCHALIAN TO DUTERTE: CERTIFY SIM CARD REGISTRATION BILL AS URGENT

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In light of recent bomb threats thru text, extortion thru text, text spam/scam, and using a cellphone as triggering device in the bombing,  Senator Win Gatchalian urged President Rodrigo Duterte to certify as urgent a bill which mandates the registration of prepaid subscriber identity module (SIM) cards.

VIDEO WATCH: PABOR BA KAYO SA SIM CARD REGISTRATION?

According to Gatchalian, this would help curb increasing number of text message bomb threats in recent weeks.

Gatchalian is the author of Senate Bill No. 203, otherwise known as the "SIM Card Registration Act."

EXAMPLE OF TEXT SCAMS/SPAMS

Since the bombing in Davao City, many bomb scares thru text have caused alarm and panic in different areas in the country.

"Mandatory registration of prepaid mobile numbers will discourage ill-willed pranksters and allow us to punish those who currently perpetrate security scares through text message with impunity. More importantly, this measure will empower law enforcement authorities to trace and suppress legitimate terror threats during these uncertain times," said Gatchalian, a member of the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security.

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Under Senate Bill No. 203

• All direct sellers of prepaid SIM card must compel buyers to present a valid photo ID before completing the sale

• The direct seller shall require the buyer to accomplish and sign controlled number registration form issued by the respective Public Telecommunication Entity (PTE) of the sim card being purchased

• Current owners of prepaid SIM cards would be mandated to register themselves and their mobile numbers within 180 days from the effectivity of the law

• Existing SIM cards which are not registered within the 180-day period would be automatically scheduled for deactivation.

Penalties Under Senate Bill No. 203

Screen shots from www.senate.gov.ph/lisdata/2362420251!.pdf


VIDEO WATCH: PROS AND CONS NG SIM CARD REGISTRATION

However, Gatchalian assured the public that their cellular data information would still be kept confidential in accordance with the constitutional right to privacy and applicable laws.

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