A measure declaring hacking of bank systems and the theft of 50 or more automated teller machines (ATM) or credit card-details as economic sabotage is expected to be approved by the House of Representatives this week.
House Bill 6710, which was already approved on second reading last week, seeks to further avert losses in the financial and trade sector due to illegal use of electronic access devices.
The measure also seeks to strengthen public trust on the electronic financial and trade and sectors.
Under the bill, unauthorized access through hacking or planting of a virus in a bank’s computer system resulting in corruption or theft of data is defined as economic sabotage, a non-bailable criminal offense carrying penalties of life in jail and fines of P1 million to P5 million. It added the same penalties are to be imposed on card skimming/data theft that will affect 50 or more ATM-based accounts, credit cards or online bank accounts.
The bill said mere possession of a card-skimming device or any similar gadget used for unauthorized harvest of account data—even if no actual theft takes placE—is also punishable with imprisonment of six to 12 years and fines ranging from P300,000 to P500,000.
It will also increase security for overseas Filipino workers’ remittances totaling $33 billion each year, as well as the growing e-commerce/online shopping sector, which accounted for P60 billion in revenues last year.
The bill acknowledges the advances in information technology on access devices have been exploited by criminals and criminal syndicates in perpetrating fraudulent activities that ultimately undermine the trust of the public in the banking industry.
Due to this deleterious effect on the economy, the measure seeks to classify the use of access devices as a form of economic sabotage and heinous crime, which shall be punishable to the maximum level allowed by law.
House Committee on Banks and Financial Intermediaries Chairman Ben Evardone of Eastern Samar, citing figures from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, said there are 76 million debit and prepaid cards currently in circulation in addition to 8.5 million credit cards.
“The lower house recognized the urgency of the need for a tougher law against criminals preying on the unsuspecting public and acted accordingly. This bill seeks to protect holders of more than 80 million ATM/credit cards currently in circulation,” Evardone said.
“Losses from ATM fraud have surged alarmingly from P175 million in 2012 to more than P600 million in 2016—a 250-percent increase in just four years. Add to this the reported P500 million stolen through fraudulent credit-card transactions in 2016 alone and one starts to get the scary picture. This has to stop,” he added.