Jamaine Punzalan

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THUMBNAIL-CYBER

Katrina Domingo

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA — The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) on Wednesday warned the public against “malicious cables” that were being used in some public charging stations or sold online, saying that some seemingly harmless chargers were being used to hack devices.</p><p>“Bago matapos ang taon mayroon naman tayong mga malicious cables, yung mga binebenta na akala mo kable lang tapos kapag kinabit mo sa phone mo, kala mo nagcha-charge ka, pinapasukan ka na pala ng virus para ma-control yung phone mo,” said Undersecretary Renato Paraiso, acting executive director of the CICC.</p><p>“Halimbawa makikihiram ka or bibili ka sa online shopping networks mo, akala mo ordinary cable lang yung phone pala mga malicious cables ito,” he told state television PTV.</p><p>The CICC is already monitoring the fraudulent cables and will soon release more information about it to the public, Paraiso said.</p><p>The government is also looking into the use of RFID scanners in scams, he said.</p><p>“Nakita natin ito sa ibang bansa pero nakita na din natin dito sa Pilipinas yung emergence nung mga RFID devices para makapagnakaw sa e-wallets natin na hindi na kailangan makuha yung phone mo, didikitan ka na lang,” he said.</p><p>These more modern scams are part of the over 16,000 complaints that the CICC received in 2025, Paraiso said.</p><p>“Medyo dumami [ang reported cybercrimes]… and we can attribute that sa nagkaroon ng awareness campaign,” he said, noting that most of the reports were coursed through the CICC Hotline 1326.</p><p>“Because of the 24-hour feedback mechanism, unti-unti ho nakukuha natin yung tiwala ng ating mga kababayan na dati ayaw magsumbong,” he said.</p><p>“Hopefully magtuloy-tuloy yung trend na ito ating mga kababayan hopefully by 2026 ay maexpand pa natin kung papalarin pa tayo at ma-overcome natin yung budgetary constraints natin,” he added.</p><p>In 2026, the CICC intends to construct its own Action Center to respond to different cyberthreats and scams.</p><p>“Kailangan natin ng mas malalakas na tools and we have to be proactive about it. Sabi ko nga, 1 second na nananatili yung mga misinformation at disinformation na yan, may mag naloloko yan,” Paraiso said.</p><p>“Nakita natin yung emergence ng International Mobile Subscription Catcher… mga rouge cell sites na naka-backpack lang yung tao tapos bina-block niya yung signal at nagbabato siya ng mga text scams,” he said.</p><p>CICC personnel have been undergoing training as reports of deepfakes continue to rise in the Philippines, and the government also needs to further its dark web monitoring capabilities to flag threats in the early stages, he said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2025/12/23/how-to-avoid-scams-this-holiday-season-1606">How to avoid scams this holiday season</a><br/><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/11/17/cicc-warns-public-about-12-scams-of-christmas-as-holiday-season-nears-1806">CICC warns public about ’12 Scams of Christmas’  </a></div><div><br/></div><div><iframe width="729" height="410" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/50EF-kA8QXE" title="How to avoid the &#x27;12 scams of Christmas&#x27;" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>

<p>The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) on Wednesday warned the public against “malicious cables” that were being used in some public charging stations or sold online, saying that some seemingly harmless chargers were being used to hack devices.</p>

The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) on Wednesday warned the public against “malicious cables” that were being used in some public charging stations or sold online, saying that some seemingly harmless chargers were being used to hack devices.

Hacking chargers? Gov’t warns vs ‘malicious cables’ sold online

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Hacking chargers? Gov’t warns vs ‘malicious cables’ sold online

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published December 24, 2025 02:25 PM PHT

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malicious cables

Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center

CICC

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