CICC warns vs spoofing attempts amid flood control mess probe

The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) on Tuesday warned the public against falling for “spoofing” attempts that might be used to create fake evidence to frame government officials amid the ongoing investigation of the flood control controversy.

The CICC’s advisory came amid reports of high-level “identity spoofing” using a messaging app to manipulate public opinion and frame government officials.

In a statement, CICC executive director and undersecretary Renato “Aboy” Paraiso said there is an ongoing threat involving fake transactions related to government projects.

“The manner of these texts makes it appear as if someone is transacting with government officials regarding the flood control scandal. We are concerned these faked conversations may be used as ‘evidence’ to frame or endanger our officials, even though they have no idea who is actually on the other end of the line,” Paraiso said.

Spoofing is when cybercriminals impersonate government agencies and public officials to spread disinformation and collect sensitive data.

The CICC explained that spoofing involves the manipulation of email headers, caller IDs, or create “mirror” social media profiles to appear as a trusted source.

The goal is to spread “official-looking” false information to confuse the public and lure victims into fake conversations to create fraudulent evidence against public figures, it added.

Paraiso said they are working with the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) and other government agencies to block the access to the messaging app.

“Kaya ito ang naging choice of platform nila, nakatago ‘yung number credential. Ibig sabihin, hindi namin makuha agad ‘yung numbers, unless we talk to the application provider itself,” he said.

(This is their choice of platform because the number credential is hidden. This means we can’t immediately get the numbers, unless we talk to the application provider itself.)

In 2025, the CICC’s Cybercrime Complaint Center handled 70 high-impact spoofing incidents, with “smishing” or text-based spoofing as the preferred tactic of cybercriminals.

The CICC reminded the public that legitimate government entities will not ask for sensitive personal information or urgent payments through random texts or social media.

Some red flags to watch out for are: messages that claim that one’s account is blocked or threaten legal action if one does not click a link immediately; the mimicking of the URLs of government websites; and slight misspellings in the sender’s name or email.

“The best approach is a ‘whole-of-society’ approach. We are encouraging various sectors to self-regulate with the intervention and guidance of the government. They help us craft regulations, and we help them protect their users. It is about building a wall of trust together,” Paraiso added. — JMA, GMA Integrated News