MANILA — The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said on Wednesday that it is working with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), banks, and law enforcement agencies to safeguard the public from online scams during the Christmas season.

In a Palace press briefing, DICT Secretary Henry Aguda said the initiative, dubbed Oplan Paskong Sigurado, aims to ensure a scam-free holiday for Filipinos.

“Ilang beses ko na sigurong nabanggit sa inyo, inutos po ng Presidente sa akin at sa DICT itong Pasko na ito walang Pilipinong mai-scam,” Aguda said.

“So, tuloy-tuloy po iyan at we’re making sure, we’re working with BSP, with the banks, with the law enforcers matiwasay po dapat ang Pasko natin. So tuloy-tuloy lang po kayong mag-e-commerce, e-transaction,” he added.

Aguda also clarified that there has been no data breach involving e-wallet services, citing verification conducted by the National Privacy Commission (NPC).

“Habang nagpapatuloy po na mag-verify kami doon sa mga report kasi kailangan naming gawin, gusto lang po namin linawin, we concluded—fake news po iyon, parang may na-recycle na news in the past na lumutang na lang,” he said.

“And sinabi naman ng website mismo, it’s unverified. So out of abundance of prudence and caution, NPC thought of checking it out and lumabas naman po wala pong problema,” Aguda emphasized.

Authorities have previously reported a rise in online scams during the Christmas season, as more Filipinos turn to online shopping and digital transactions, making them vulnerable to phishing, fake websites, and other fraudulent activities.