c 
THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC) 
1 
5 
-3 All 21 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session 
1 
6 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Philippine society is increasingly dependent on the internet for communication, 
entertainment, commerce, and banking. For the internet to reach its full potential, it must 
continue to be a trustworthy medium. Internet users should be able to trust the origin of internet 
communications and the destination of internet hyperlinks. 
Internet users around the world are increasingly subjected to scams based on misleading 
or false communications that trick the user into sending money, or into revealing information 
that result in financial loss. 
One class of such scams is calledphising. This uses false e-mail return addresses, stolen 
graphics, stylistic imitations, disguised hyperlinks, and other artifices to trick users into revealing 
personal information. After obtaining this information, the phisev then uses the information to 
create unlawful identification documents and/or to unlawfully obtain money or property. 
This bill seeks to criminalize internet scams involving fraudulently obtaining personal 
information, commonly known as phising. 


i 
THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
1 
First Regular Session 
1 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
AN ACT 
TO CRIMINALIZE INTERNET SCAMS INVOLVING FRAUDULENTLY 
OBTAINING PERSONAL INFORMATION 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assem bled: 
SECTION 1. Short Title. -This Act shall be known as the “Anti-phising Act of 2005.” 
SECTION 2. Dejnition of Terms. -As used in this Act, the term: 
(1) “Phising” - means an internet scam based on misleading or false communications that 
trick the user into sending money, or trick the user into revealing enough information to enable 
various forms of identity theft that result in financial loss. 
(2) “Phiser” - means any person, firm, association, corporation or partnership or other 
organization who engaged or commits the act of phising. 
(3) “Internet” - means the combination of computer facilities and electromagnetic 
transmission media, and related equipment and software, comprising the interconnected 
worldwide network of computer networks that employ the Transmission Control 
Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) or any successor protocol to transmit information. 
(4) “Domain name” - means any alphanumeric designation which is registered with or 
assigned by any domain name registrar, domain name registry, or other domain name registration 
authority as part of an electronic address on the internet. 
(5) “Electronic mail message” - means a message sent to a unique electronic mail 
address. 


(6) “Initiate” - means to originate or transmit such message or to procure the origination 
or transmission of such message, but shall not include actions that constitute routine conveyance 
of such message. For purposes of this paragraph, more than one person may be considered to 
have initiated a message. 
(7) “Procure” - means intentionally to pay or provide consideration to, or induce, another 
person to create a website or domain name. 
(8) “Recipient” - means an authorized user of the electronic mail address to which the 
message was sent or delivered. If a recipient of a commercial electronic mail message has one or 
more electronic mail addresses in addition to the address to which the message was sent or 
delivered, the recipient shall be treated as a separate recipient with respect to each such address. 
If an electronic mail address is reassigned to a new user, the new user shall not be treated as a 
recipient of any commercial electronic mail message sent or delivered to that address before it 
was reassigned. 
(9) “Internet information location tool” - 
means a service that refers or links users to an 
online location on the worldwide web. Such term includes directories, indices, references, 
pointers, and hypertext links. 
SECTION 3. Criminal Offense undPenal@ - 
(1) Internet Fraud. - 
(a) WEBSITE. - 
Whoever knowingly, with the intent to carry on any activity which 
would be a crime of fraud or identity theft- 
(i) creates or procures the creation of a website or domain name that represents 
itself as a legitimate online business, without the authority or approval of the registered 
owner of the actual website or domain name of the legitimate online business; and 
(ii) uses that website or domain name to induce, request, ask, or solicit any person 
to transmit, submit, or provide any means of identification to another; 
shall be imprisoned for a minimum of six (6) months and one (1) day to a 
maximum of six (6) years and a fine of not more than six thousand pesos (P6,OOO) but not 
less than two hundred pesos (PZOO). 


(b) MESSENGER. - 
Whoever knowingly, with the intent to carry on any activity which 
would be a crime of fraud or identity theft- 
(i) falsely represents itself as being sent by a legitimate online business; 
(ii) includes an Internet information location tool that refers or links users to an 
online location on the world wide web that falsely purports to belong to or be associated 
with such legitimate online business; and 
(iii) induces, requests, asks, or solicits a recipient of the electronic mail message 
directly or indirectly to provide, submit, or relate any means of identification to another; 
shall be imprisoned for a minimum of six (6) months and one (1) day to a 
maximum of six (6) years and a fine of not more than six thousand pesos (P6,OOO) but not 
less than two hundred pesos (PZOO). 
SECTION 4. Liability of Officials of Juridical Persons. - If the phiser is a partnership, 
firm, corporation or association, the president or the manager or any officer thereof who knows 
or should have known the commission of the offense shall be liable. 
SECTION 5. Separability clause. - If any provision, or part hereof, is held invalid or 
unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise affected shall remain 
valid and subsisting. 
SECTION 6. Repealing clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive 
order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation or part thereof, contrary to, or 
inconsistent with, the provision of this Act is hereby repealed, modified, or amended 
accordingly. 
SECTION 7. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved, 
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