Scammers posing as Budget chief? Pangandaman warns vs chat requests, messages

MANILA - The Department of Budget and Management on Thursday warned against transacting with individuals or groups using unverified email addresses bearing the name of Secretary Amenah Pangandaman.

The DBM said it became aware of the email address amenahfpangandaman@gmail.com posing as Pangandaman.

“Secretary Pangandaman will never use an unsecure and unverified email address to contact anyone for anything,” the DBM said.

The agency said it has alerted authorities “to conduct a thorough investigation into illegal activities.”

“We shall exert all efforts, within the fullest extent of the law, to identify, apprehend, and file the appropriate charges against these deceitful individuals and groups,” it added.

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The DBM urged the public to be more vigilant and discerning, and to report this and similar cases using the name of the DBM, its Secretary, or any other official to (02) 8657-3300.

Scammers often pose as important people, and ask potential victims to deposit money into their accounts, or ask for personal information that may be used for other scams.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology advises internet users not to respond to calls and texts from unknown sources, saying these could be from cybercriminals who use a system called "click trap."

The DICT said that scammers can generate a list of numbers of potential victims through AI and call or send text messages to see if the numbers are active.

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