CICC pushes for stronger protection of digital economy investors, clients

Undersecretary Renato “Aboy” Paraiso, CICC executive director, said the growing use of digital financial platforms requires stronger government-industry cooperation to ensure that Filipinos entering the digital economy are also protected from cybercriminals. This, as Mynt, the parent company of GCash, got the government’s approval of its initial public offering, a move that is seen to bring millions of Filipinos into the Philippine capital market. “Cybersecurity is not the responsibility of the government alone - it requires strong collaboration with industry leaders like GCash,” Paraiso said in an earlier CICC-GCash partnership, underscoring the need for coordinated efforts to protect users of digital financial services.

The Mynt IPO could become a significant retail-investor event as millions of Filipinos familiar with GCash gain an opportunity to participate in the stock market through digital channels but Paraiso said greater accessibility also creates another risk. “Scammers could exploit first-time investors who are unfamiliar with stock-market transactions by impersonating GCash, Mynt, brokers, regulators or other legitimate institutions,” said Paraiso. KYC security Paraiso explained that the CICC’s role is not to conduct securities KYC (know your clients) or determine who may buy shares - functions handled by financial institutions and securities regulators.

Rather, the focus is on helping the detection, prevention and pursuit of cybercriminal activity that are targeting investors, as cybersecurity measures help protect investors from being deceived by impostors. Paraiso said that potential scams could include fake GCash or Mynt IPO websites, fraudulent social-media pages, bogus “IPO agents,” phishing messages, malicious QR codes and offers promising guaranteed allocations or exclusive access to shares. He emphasized that the risk could be greater for Filipinos who are familiar with GCash as a digital wallet but are buying stocks for the first time.

Cybercrime complaints Based on the CICC data, consumer fraud accounted for 35 percent of complaints received by its Cyber Crime Complaint Center in 2025. This makes it the most reported cybercrime category. For the GCash IPO, Paraiso said the cyber-protection framework could become particularly relevant as stock investing reaches Filipinos who may be entering the capital market for the first time.

He said CICC-GCash cooperation could include monitoring fraudulent websites and social-media accounts, facilitating the reporting and takedown of impersonation schemes, and giving the public simple guidance on how to verify legitimate IPO channels.