Cybercrime Prevention Act of the Philippines

The Cybercrime Law of the Philippines was finally passed and approved.  Acts like identity theft (using other peoples photos and pretending to be them), cybersex, child pornography and other online fraud are now criminalized.

The most controversial portion of the law is the electronic libel.  You can now go to prison if you say libelous statements online like in blogs, Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites.

There are moves to revise the law but its too late.  It should have been debated months ago not after it was passed as a law.

Check out this link for more information

http://digitalfilipino.com/introduction-cybercrime-prevention-act-republic-act-10175/ 

Online Identity Theft

Sometimes we are quite open with our personal information online.  We share our photographs, emails, and even personal numbers to anyone without thinking of consequences.

Online identity theft is for real.  Gone are the days when thieves used knives or guns to steal something from us.  They can now easily do this online.  The most common item being stolen are photographs.  These are usually taken from social networking sites like Facebook, Friendster and photographs shared with strangers.  Take for instance the case of Aaron Villaflor, an ABS-CBN talent.  His photographs were copied and used by another person in Facebook.(http://beonline.com.ph/breakingNewsArticle.php?aid=2465&pageid=2).

We should be careful of our personal photographs and information.  Check the settings of your social networking account.  Do not allow strangers to see your personal information or photographs.  Avoid accepting strangers to your social networking account.  If possible separate your personal account for your family and friends from your acquaintances.  Place watermarks over your photograph.  And lastly, ask that person to chat with you online with a webcam.  If that guy refuses and makes so much excuses, be careful.  He might not be who you think he is.

Aaron Villaflor with ABS-CBN watermark