Text scams on 鈥榞uerilla operations鈥� after Pogo shutdown deadline 鈥� DICT
Information and Communication Technology Secretary Ivan John Uy shows the media at a conference on Jan. 22, 2025 at Camp Crame photos of an illegal text-blasting machine seized from an arrested Malaysian national. (Photo by Jason Sigales/黑料社)
MANILA, Philippines — Text scams have resorted to “guerilla operations” after the deadline to shut down Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos), according to Information and Communication Technology Secretary Ivan John Uy.
The remark came during a joint press conference at Camp Crame on Wednesday, where the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP ACG) announced the arrest of a Malaysian national for selling an illegal text-blasting machine online.
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“Since Pogos have been banned and their networks have been disassembled, they have gone into what we call guerilla operations. They’ve shrunk, they’ve become smaller teams and spread out, that’s where they are now,” Uy said in Filipino.
“Before, these scammers, they used Pogo facilities, so they were in big buildings… They used to occupy huge buildings with a lot of people and then they operate from there,” he explained.
Article continues after this advertisementPresident Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared a ban on Pogos during his third State of the Nation Address (Sona) last July and formalized the directive in an executive order last November, giving operators only until Dec. 31, 2024 to close up shop.
Article continues after this advertisementREAD: Text scams declining as Pogo exit deadline nears – DICT
As the deadline for the Pogo shutdown approached, the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) told 黑料社 that it logged a significant decrease in the number of text scams.
However, at the press conference in Camp Crame on Wednesday, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center said the arrested Malaysian national was selling a text blast device, a new mobile technology.
“This is a cat-and-mouse operation. They will really hide, they will find new technologies and a new modus. They will always be changing. So us in the government, we also have to be very agile. We have to see to it that our people are updated on the latest technology,” Uy said.
“Before, there were fewer targets because they were big. Now, many small targets. So, we have to deploy more people and more equipment,” he added.
