MANILA (Bernama-Xinhua): The number of cybercrime incidents in Metro Manila rose by 152 per cent during the first half of the year compared to the same period last year, according to the Philippine National Police data and media reports.
The police recorded 6,250 cybercrimes in Metro Manila from January to June this year, up from 2,477 in the same period in 2022.
Police attributed the "exponential rise" to the carelessness of online users and the availability of malware online.
"Online scams almost tripled to 4,446 compared to 1,551 last year while illegal access reached 1,063, up by 86 per cent from 570 during the same period last year," the police said in a statement.
The police added that automated teller machine (ATM) and credit card fraud also rose during the first semester to 625, more than double the 241 cases reported during the same period last year.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Jay Guillermo of the Anti-Cybercrime Unit in the National Capital Region projected that "the exponential growth of cybercrime to continue due to the availability of malware on the internet, ease of doing business of both private and government institutions, technological development and careless online users."
Police said it received 4,615 complaints from Jan 1 to June 15 this year, most of which are related to online fraud, illegal access, and online libel.- Bernama-Xinhua
