NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE ] 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ] 
Second Regular Session 
]
of li)l‘ i- '■
23 AUG 15 P6 ‘07
SENATE
s.B. No. 2407
RHCElVhDBV:
Introduced by SEN. WIN GATCHALIAN
AN ACT
PROHIBITING MONEY MULES AND OTHER FRAUDULENT ACTS 
COMMITTED INVOLVING FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS, PROVIDING PENALTIES
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
EXPLANATORY NOTE
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the significance of cashless 
transactions and digital payments. With the convenience and ease of being able to 
shop, pay bills, and conduct financial transactions anywhere, more and more Filipinos 
are expected to rely more and more on digital financial services, such as online 
banking, digital banking and electronic wallets. In fact, the Bangko Sentra!ngPiUpina^ 
(BSP) 2021 Demand Side data1 shows an 80% increase in the number of 
internet/mobile phone users who use digital financial services from 12% in 2019 to 
60% in 2021. Meanwhile, BSP/s 2021 Financial Inclusion Survey also indicates that e- 
money accounts rose to 36% in 2021 from 8% in 2019.
With the rapid growth and popularity of digital financial services, the rise of 
financial-related cybercrimes followed. Cybercriminals started taking advantage of 
technologies to transfer illicit or stolen funds across digital financial services, stealing 
vital information about accountholders and taking over their accounts, or enticing 
accountholders with gifts or incentives with the goal of covertly committing financial 
crimes.
For the past three years, the unsuspecting public lost millions of their hard- 
earned money from these cybercriminals. A number of notable cases include the "Mark 
Nagoyo" scam, in which more than 700 BDO Unibank customers' accounts were
1 
2022 Annual Report National Strategy for Financial Inclusion; Available at
https://www.b5P.qov.ph/Paqe5/InclusiveFinance/2022NSFIAnnualReport.pdf; Last accessed on July 28, 2023,


hacked in late 20212, the unauthorized bank transfers that targeted government 
teachers with Landbank accounts in January 2022 wherein the victims lost between 
Php 26,000 to Php 121,000 from the incident3, and the massive phishing incident 
involving Gcash users in May 20234.
As members of the financial services industry strengthen their defenses against 
cyberthreats, threat actors continuously come up with ingenious ways to commit 
financial-related cybercrimes, making use of money mules and social engineering 
schemes to create layers of distance between victims and criminals, thereby, making 
it harder for law enforcement to accurately trace money trails. Also, operations of 
cybercriminals grew in large scale, especially this pandemic, taking advantage of the 
unemployed, those who are looking for easy money, those who are unaware, and 
those who are willing to help others, and thriving in jurisdictions with very weak 
enforcement and penalties, like the Philippines. In fact, Kaspersky Security Network's 
2022 Report shows that the Philippines ranked 2nd globally among countries most 
attacked by web threats from January to December 2022 and that the most preferred 
attack method by threat actors includes social engineering schemes5.
Accordingly, it is high time to legislate a measure that penalizes those who 
willingly allow themselves to be used as money mules, those who use social 
engineering schemes and other fraudulent schemes involving financial accounts, 
including account takeover, recruiting or enlisting others to commit these acts, and 
those who commit these acts in large scale or equivalent to economic sabotage that 
threatens the safety of the financial accounts of Filipinos and the integrity of the 
country's financial system. As we continue to promote digitalization and financial 
inclusion, it is crucial that we prevent further social and economic consequences 
arising from financial-related cybercrimes.
In view of the foregoing, the immediate passage of this bHt costly sought.
ATCHAL
2 RAPPLER. "BDO Clients Lose Money Due to Alleged Online Banking Hack," December 12, 2021. Available at 
https://www.rappler.com/business/bdo-clients-lose-monev-due-alleaed-online-bankinq-hack/; Last accessed on
July 28. 2023.
3 Vera, Ben 0. de. "Landbank: Teachers Who Lost Money Fell Victims to Phishing Scam." INQUIRER.net, January 
24, 2022. Available at https://business.inauirer.net/339463/landbank-teachers-who-lost-monev-fell-victims-to- 
phishinq-scam; Last accessed on July 28, 2023.
4 Olandres, Abe. Yugatech: "Gcash: Full explanation of Massive Phishing Incident," May 14, 2023. Available at 
https://www.vuqatech.com/fintech/qcash-full-explanation-of-massive-phishinq-incident/; Last accessed on July 
28, 2023.
5 Ronda, Rainier Allan. '"Philippines 2nd Most Attacked by Web Threats Worldwide Last Year.'" Philstar.com. March 
15, 2023. Available at https://www.philstar.eom/headlines/2023/03/15/2251710/philippines-2nd-most-attacked- 
web-threats-worldwide-last-vear. Last accessed on July 28, 2023


NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
Second Regular Session
of Hip rrrfnf»
23 AUG 15 P 6 ‘07
SENATE
S. B. No.
Introduced by SEN. WIN GATCHALIAN
AN ACT
PROHIBITING MONEY MULES AND OTHER FRAUDULENT ACTS 
COMMITTED INVOLVING FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS, PROVIDING 
PENALTIES AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Phiiippines 
in Congress assembled:
1 
SECTION 1. Short Title - This Act shall be known as the"Anti-Financiai
2 
Account Scamming Act".
3
4 
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is hereby declared the policy of the
5 
State to protect and preserve the integrity of the country's financial system and
6 
to ensure that financial accounts and their owners are protected from and are
7 
not exploited or lured by cybercriminals or criminal syndicates into the
8 
commission of an unlawful or fraudulent activity.
9 
Recognizing the shared role of financial service providers, and the
10 
general public in promoting and maintaining a stable and efficient financial
11 
system, the increased use of digital or electronic mediums in financial
12 
transactions, and the evolving advances in technology, the State shall enhance
13 
further the efficacy of the law against unlawful activities that use financial
14 
accounts or e-wallets to conceal or disguise the nature, location, source,
15 
ownership or control of a fraudulent or illegal activity, or that provide means or
16 
conduits to facilitate the unauthorized, illegal or fraudulent access thereof.


1 
The State shall likewise ensure that proper mechanisms and measures
2 
are in place, including an intensive and unrelenting campaign against money
3 
mules and other fraudulent schemes, to protect the public from such unlawful
4 
activities that undermine the integrity of the country's financial system.
5 
Due to its deleterious effect on the economy, it is the policy of the State
6 
to severely punish the large-scale commission of certain crimes in this Act with
7 
the maximum level of penalty allowed by law.
8
9 SEC. 3. Definition. - As used in this Act:
10 
(a) Account owner refers to the owner or owners of a financial account
11 
as opened or registered with the financial service provider;
12 
(b) Account takeover refers to the use of any means, such as but not
13 
limited to force, intimidation, manipulation, or deceit, whereby a
14 
malicious third party successfully gains access and control over an
15 
account owner's financial account;
16 
(c) Bulk email refers to the volume of electronic mail sent in mass or to
17 
fifty (50) or more emails;
18 
(d) Electronic Wallet or E-waiiet refers to a digital value stored in a
19 
wallet as may be defined by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)
20 
regulations;
21 
(e) Financial Account refers to any account that represents financial
22 
products or services developed or marketed by a financial service
23 
provider, which may include, but are not limited to, savings, interest or
24 
non-interest-bearing deposit, trust, investment, credit card, and other
25 
transaction account maintained with a bank, non-bank, or financial
26 
institution, electronic wallets and various types of accounts used for
27 
financial transactions. This also includes 
an account that represents
28 
digital financial products or services which pertain to the broad range
29 
of financial services accessed and delivered through online or digital
30 
channels or platforms;


1 
(f) Financial regulator refers to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas,
2 
Securities and Exchange Commission, Insurance Commission, and the
3 
Cooperative Development Authority;
4 
(g) Financial Service Provider refers to a person which provides
5 
financial products or services as defined in Republic Act No. 11765,
6 
otherwise known as the ''Financial Products and Services Consumer
1 
Protection Act"
8 
(h) Mass mailer refers to a service or software used to send electronic
9 
mail in mass or to fifty or more emails;
10 
(i) Money mute refers to any person who obtains, receives, acquires, or
11 
transfers or withdraws money, funds, or proceeds derived from crimes,
12 
offenses, or social engineering schemes, and those who commit the
13 
prohibited acts under Section 4(a) of this Act;
14 
(j) Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) refers to an authentication
15 
method that requires the user to provide two (2) or more verification
16 
factors, such as something you know, something you have, and
17 
something you are, to gain access to a resource;
18 
(k) Persons refer to natural or juridical persons, including corporations,
19 
partnerships, associations, organizations, joint ventures, government
20 
agencies or instrumentalities, government-owned and controlled
21 
corporations (GOCCs), or any other legal entity, whether for profit or
22 
not-for-profit;
23 
(!) Sensitive Identifying Information refers to any information that
24 
can be used to access a financial account such as but not limited to,
25 
usernames, passwords, bank account details, credit card, debit card,
26 
and e-wallet information among other electronic credentials; and
27 
(m) Social engineering scheme refers to the use of deception,
28 
misrepresentation or other fraudulent means by a person to obtain
29 
confidential or personal information, including sensitive identifying
30 
information, of another person or to manipulate another person to
31 
perform an act involving that or other person's financial account which
32 
would not otherwise be done had the true circumstances been known


1 
and not obscured, and those acts enumerated under Section 4(b) of
2 
this Act.
3
4 
SEC. 4. Prohibited Acts. - The following acts shall constitute an offense
5 
punishable under this Act:
6 
(a) Money muie. - It shall be prohibited for any person to act as a money
7 
mule. Any person performing any of the following acts shall be considered as a
8 
money mule:
9 
(1) Registers or opens a financial account and uses or allows the use
10 
thereof, to receive or transfer or withdraw proceeds known to be
11 
derived from crimes, offenses, or social engineering schemes;
12 
(2) Registers or opens a financial account under a fictitious name or
13 
using the identity or identification documents of another to receive
14 
or transfer or withdraw proceeds derived from crimes, offenses, or
15 
social engineering schemes;
16 
(3) Buys or leases a financial account for the purpose of receiving or
17 
transferring or withdrawing proceeds derived from crimes, offenses,
18 
or social engineering schemes;
19 
(4) Sells or lends a financial account for the purpose of receiving or
20 
transferring or withdrawing proceeds derived from crimes, offenses,
21 
or social engineering schemes;
22 
(5) Uses a financial account fraudulently applied for;
23 
(6) Obtains money or anything of value through the use of a financial
24 
account with intent to defraud or with intent to gain and fleeing
25 
thereafter;
26 
(7) Effects a transaction, using a financial account belonging to another
27 
person, to receive payment or any other thing of value derived from
28 
crimes, offenses, or social engineering schemes; or
29 
(b) Social engineering schemes. - Any person performing any social
30 
engineering scheme shall be penalized under this Act. Social engineering
31 
scheme shall also be deemed committed when a person performs any of the
32 
following:


1 
(1) Makes any communication to another person by falsely representing
2 
one's self as a representative or agent of a financial service provider
3 
or making any false representation in order to gain the trust of others
4 
and soliciting sensitive Identifying information that results in account
5 
takeover;
6 
(2) Uses electronic communication to induce or request any person to
7 
provide sensitive identifying information with the intent to defraud
8 
or injure any person; or
9 
(3) Causes any person to provide sensitive identifying information with
10 
the intent to defraud or with the intent to gain and fleeing thereafter.
11 
Banks and other financial institutions shall ensure that access to their
12 
clients' accounts are protected by appropriate level of security, including, but
13 
not limited to, multi-factor authentication (MFA), and other account-holder
14 
authentication and verification processes: Provided, That, such security levels
15 
are proportionate and commensurate to the nature, size and complexity of their
16 
operations. Subject to sufficient and undeniable proof resulting from a thorough
17 
investigation within a reasonable time, failure of these institutions to exercise
18 
proper diligence shall result to immediate restitution of amounts lost to the
19 
rightful owners.
20 
(c) Economic sabotage. Any offense defined under this Section shall
21 
be considered as an offense involving economic sabotage when any of the
22 
following circumstances are present:
23 
(l)The offense was committed by a syndicate;
24 
(2) The offense was committed in large scale;
25 
(3) The offense was committed using a mass mailer or other similar tools
26 
used to send bulk emails or SMS, generative artificial intelligence or
27 
any similar technology that takes advantage of the reach, open
28 
access and processing power available through the internet to (a)
29 
collect and process large amounts of data, (b) break secure
30 
passwrods and encrypted data, (c) replicate likeness and voices of
31 
natural persons, (d) create fake identities, likenesses, and voices.


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and (e) other analogous uses that apply new technology to cause 
widespread damage to the public;
(4) The offense was committed by a group of foreign nationals operating 
inside and outside the Philippines;
(5) The offense was committed through human trafficking.
For this purpose, an act shall be deemed committed by a syndicate if 
the offense was carried out by a group of three (3) or more persons conspiring 
or confederating with one another, while an act shall be deemed committed in 
large scale if the offense was committed against three (3) or more persons 
individually or as a group.
SEC. 5. Other Offenses. - The acts involving or having relation to the 
following shall also constitute an offense punishable under this Act:
(a) Performs account takeover or uses or borrows a financial account for 
the purpose of receiving or transferring or withdrawing proceeds derived from 
crimes, offenses, or social engineering schemes;
(b) Recruiting, enlisting, contracting, hiring, utilizing or inducing any 
person to perform the acts mentioned in Section 4(a) of this Act;
(c) Any person who willfully abets or aids in the commission of any of the 
offenses enumerated in Section 4 of this Act shall be held liable; and
(d) Any person who willfully attempts to commit any of the offenses 
enumerated in Section 4 of this Act shall be held liable.
SEC. 6. Higher Penalty for Acts Committed Under the Revised 
Pena! Code and Crimes Under Special Laws Using Money Muie and 
Social Engineering Schemes. - All crimes defined and penalized by Act No. 
3815, otherwise known as the Revised Penal Code, as amended, and special 
laws, if committed by and through the acts as defined under Section 4 hereof, 
shall be covered by the relevant provisions of this Act: Provided, That the 
penalty to be imposed shall be one (1) degree higher than that provided for by 
the Revised Penal Code, as amended, and special laws, as the case may be.


1 
SEC. 7. Liability Under Other Laws. - A prosecution under this Act
2 
shall be without prejudice to any liability for violation of any provision of the
3 
Revised Penal Code, as amended, or special laws.
4
5 
SEC. 8. Penalties. - Any person found guilty of the punishable act under
6 
Section 4(a) hereof shall be punished with imprisonment of prision correcciona! 
1 or a fine of at least One hundred thousand pesos (PhP100,000.00) but not
8 
exceeding Two hundred thousand pesos (PhP200,000.00), or both.
9 
Any person found guilty of any of the punishable acts enumerated In
10 
Section 4(b) hereof shall be punished with imprisonment of prision mayor or a
11 
fine of at least Two hundred thousand pesos (PhP200,000.00) but not
12 
exceeding Five hundred thousand pesos (PhP500,000.00), or both: Provided,
13 
however. That the maximum penalty shall be imposed if the target or victim of
14 
the social engineering scheme is or includes a senior citizen aged sixty (60)
15 
years old or above at the time the offense was committed or attempted.
16 
Any person found guilty of any of the offenses that constitutes economic
17 
sabotage under Section 4(c) hereof shall be punished with life imprisonment
18 
and a fine of not less than One million pesos (P1,000,000.00) but not more
19 
than Five million pesos (P5,000,000.00).
20 
Any person found guilty of any of the punishable acts enumerated in
21 
Section 5 hereof shall be punished with imprisonment one (1) degree lower
22 
than that of the prescribed penalty for the offense or a fine of at least One
23 
hundred thousand pesos (PhP100,000.00) but not exceeding Five hundred
24 
thousand pesos (PhP500,000.00), or both.
25
26 
SEC. 9. Corporate Liability, - When any of the punishable acts herein
27 
defined knowingly committed on behalf of or for the benefit of a juridical
28 
person, by a natural person who has a leading position within based on (a) a
29 
power of representation of the juridical person: Provided, That the act
30 
committed falls within the scope of such authority; (b) an authority to take
31 
decisions on behalf of the juridical person: Provided, That the act committed
32 
falls within the scope of such authority; or (c) an authority to exercise control


1 
within the juridical person, the juridical person shall be held liable for a fine
2 
equivalent to at least double the fines imposable in Section 8 hereof up to a
3 
maximum of Ten million pesos (PhPlO,000,000).
4
5 
SEC. 10. Enforcement - The provision of Chapter IV of Republic Act
6 
No. 10175, otherwise known as the "Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012", shall
7 
be applicable in the enforcement of this Act; Provided, That, in addition to the
8 
cybercrime units of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the
9 
Philippine National Police (PNP), the financial regulator shall have the authority
10 
to investigate cases involving violations of this Act, and to apply for cybercrime
11 
warrants and orders mentioned in Chapter IV of Republic Act No. 10175:
12 
Provided, further. That the financial regulator may request assistance of the
13 
NBI and PNP in the investigation of cases involving violations of this Act and in
14 
the enforcement and implementation of cybercrime warrants and related
15 
orders.
16 
The financial regulator shall have the authority to examine and
17 
investigate individual financial accounts which are involved in the prohibited
18 
acts and other offenses under Sections 4 and 5 of this Act. For this purpose,
19 
the provisions of Republic Act No. 1405, otherwise known as the "Secrecy of
20 
Bank Deposits Law," Republic Act No. 6426, as amended, otherwise known as
21 
the "Foreign Currency Deposit Act," and Republic Act No. 10173, otherwise
22 
known as the "Data Privacy Act of 2012," shall not apply to financial accounts,
23 
which are subject of the investigation of financial regulator under this provision.
24 
No financial service provider, or any of its directors, officers or
25 
employees, shall be subject to any action, claim or demand in connection with,
26 
and shall be held free and harmless from liability for, any act done in compliance
27 
with an order for inquiry or examination of financial accounts from financial
28 
regulators: Provided, further. That, the financial regulator may use any or all
29 
information gathered from the above inquiry, examination or investigation, in
30 
the course of its implementation of relevant provisions of Republic Act No.
31 
11765 or the "Financial Products and Services Consumer Protection Act of
32 
2022."


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It shall be unlawful, however, for any official or employee, of a financial 
service provider or the financial regulator, to disclose any information 
concerning said other financial accounts to any person under such conditions 
other than in relation to the examination and investigation under this Section. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to use this Act for persecution or harassment 
or as an instrument to hamper competition in trade and commerce.
The financial regulator shall have the authority to issue rules on the 
information sharing and disclosure with law enforcement and other competent 
authorities in connection with its examination and investigation of financial 
accounts under this provision: Provided, That, any information which may be 
shared by the financial regulator under this provision shall be used solely for 
the investigation and prosecution of cases involving the prohibited acts and 
other offenses defined under Sections 4 and 5 of this Act.
SEC 11. Jurisdiction. - The Regional Trial Court designated as 
cybercrime court shall have jurisdiction over any violation of the provisions of 
this Act including any violation committed by a Filipino national regardless of 
the place of commission. Jurisdiction shall lie if any of the elements was 
committed within the Philippines or committed with the use of any computer 
system wholly or partly situated in the country, or when by such commission 
any damage is caused to a natural or juridical person who, at the time the 
offense was committed, was in the Philippines.
SEC. 12. Genera! Principies Reiating to International 
Cooperation. - All relevant international instruments on international 
cooperation in criminal matters, arrangements agreed on the basis of uniform 
or reciprocal legislation, and domestic laws, to the widest extent possible for 
the purposes of Investigations or proceedings concerning criminal offenses 
related to computer systems and data, or for the collection of evidence in 
electronic form of a criminal offense, shall be given full force and effect.


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SEC. 13. Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR). - With i n sixty 
(60) days from the effectivity of this Act, the BSP and other financiai reguiators, 
in coordination with the Department of Justice (DOJ), NBI, PNP, and the 
Department of Information and Communications Technoiogy (DICT), shaii 
promulgate the rules and regulations to effectively implement the provisions of 
this Act.
A cooperative mechanism shall be established among the concerned 
government agencies, banks, financial and other covered institutions, private 
and corporate sectors, and other concerned stakeholder groups to ensure the 
effective prosecution of cases and enforcement of this Act.
SEC. 14. Congressional Oversight Committee. - There is hereby 
created a Congressional Oversight Committee to monitor and oversee the 
implementation of the provisions of this Act. The Committee shall be composed 
of three (3) members from the Senate Committee on Banks, Financial 
Institutions and Currencies and three (3) members from the House of 
Representatives Committee on Banks and Financial Intermediaries. The 
Chairpersons of both the Senate and the House of Representatives committees 
shall be joint Chairpersons of this Committee. The two (2) other members from 
each House are to be designated by the Senate President and the Speaker of 
the House of Representatives, respectively. The minority shall have at least one 
(1) representative from each Chamber.
SEC. 15. Separability Clause. - If any section or provision of this Act 
shall be declared unconstitutional or invalid, the other sections or the provisions 
not affected thereby shall remain in full force and effect.
SEC. 16. Repealing Clause, - All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules 
and regulations or parts thereof which are inconsistent with this Act are hereby 
repealed, amended or modified accordingly.
10


1 
SEC. 17. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen days (15) after
2 
its publication in the Official Gazette or in a national newspaper of general
3 
circulation.
Approved,
11


NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE ] 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ] 
Second Regular Session 
]
SENATE 
S.B. No.____
Introduced by SEN. WIN GATCHALIAN
AN ACT
PROHIBITING MONEY MULES AND OTHER FRAUDULENT ACTS 
COMMITTED INVOLVING FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS, PROVIDING PENALTIES
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
EXPLANATORY NOTE
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the significance of cashless 
transactions and digital payments. With the convenience and ease of being able to 
shop, pay bills, and conduct financial transactions anywhere, more and more Filipinos 
are expected to rely more and more on digital financial services, such as online 
banking, digital banking and electronic wallets. In fact, the Bangko Sentra!ngPilipinas 
(BSP) 2021 Demand Side data1 shows an 80% increase in the number of 
internet/mobile phone users who use digital financial services from 12% in 2019 to 
60% in 2021. Meanwhile, BSP's 2021 Financial Inclusion Survey also indicates that e- 
money accounts rose to 36% in 2021 from 8% in 2019.
With the rapid growth and popularity of digital financial services, the rise of 
financial-related cybercrimes followed. Cybercriminals started taking advantage of 
technologies to transfer illicit or stolen funds across digital financial services, stealing 
vital information about accountholders and taking over their accounts, or enticing 
accountholders with gifts or incentives with the goal of covertly committing financial 
crimes.
For the past three years, the unsuspecting public lost millions of their hard- 
earned money from these cybercriminals. A number of notable cases include the "Mark 
Nagoyo" scam, in which more than 700 BDO Unibank customers' accounts were
1 
2022 Annual Report National Strategy for Financial Inclusion; Available at
httDs://www.bsp.qov.ph/Paqes/InclusiveFinance/2022NSFIAnnualReport.pdf; Last accessed on July 28, 2023.


hacked in late 20212, the unauthorized bank transfers that targeted government 
teachers with Landbank accounts in January 2022 wherein the victims lost between 
Php 26,000 to Php 121,000 from the incident3, and the massive phishing incident 
involving Gcash users in May 20234.
As members of the financial services industry strengthen their defenses against 
cyberthreats, threat actors continuously come up with ingenious ways to commit 
financial-related cybercrimes, making use of money mules and social engineering 
schemes to create layers of distance between victims and criminals, thereby, making 
it harder for law enforcement to accurately trace money trails. Also, operations of 
cybercriminals grew in large scale, especially this pandemic, taking advantage of the 
unemployed, those who are looking for easy money, those who are unaware, and 
those who are willing to help others, and thriving in jurisdictions with very weak 
enforcement and penalties, like the Philippines. In fact, Kaspersky Security Network's 
2022 Report shows that the Philippines ranked 2nd globally among countries most 
attacked by web threats from January to December 2022 and that the most preferred 
attack method by threat actors includes social engineering schemes5.
Accordingly, it is high time to legislate a measure that penalizes those who 
willingly allow themselves to be used as money mules, those who use social 
engineering schemes and other fraudulent schemes involving financial accounts, 
including account takeover, recruiting or enlisting others to commit these acts, and 
those who commit these acts in large scale or equivalent to economic sabotage that 
threatens the safety of the financial accounts of Filipinos and the integrity of the 
country's financial system. As we continue to promote digitalization and financial 
inclusion, it is crucial that we prevent further social and economic consequences 
arising from financial-related cybercrimes.
In view of the foregoing, the immediate passage of this bill is earnestly sought.
WIN GATCHALIAN
2 RAPPLER. "BDO Clients Lose Money Due to Alleged Online Banking Hack," December 12, 2021. Available at
https://www.rappler.com/business/bdo-clients-lose-monev-due-alleqed-online-bankinq-hack/; Last accessed on
July 28, 2023.
3 Vera, Ben O. de. "Landbank: Teachers Who Lost Money Fell Victims to Phishing Scam." INQUIRER.net, January
24, 2022. Available at https://business.inquirer.net/339463/landbank-teachers-who-lost-money-fell-victims-tO:
phishinq-scam; Last accessed on July 28, 2023.
4 Olandres, Abe. Yugatech: "Gcash: Full explanation of Massive Phishing Incident," May 14, 2023. Available at 
https://www.vuqatech.com/fintech/qcash-full-explanation-of-massive-phishinq-incident/; Last accessed on July
28,2023. 
u
5 Ronda, Rainier Allan. '"Philippines 2nd Most Attacked by Web Threats Worldwide Last Year."' Philstar.com. March
15, 2023. Available at https://www.philstar.eom/headlines/2023/03/15/2251710/philippines-2nd-most-attacked_:
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