Land Transportation Office (LTO) chief Assistant Secretary Atty. Vigor Mendoza II has warned the public to be aware of online scam in obtaining driver’s license nationwide.
Mendoza said the LTO would ask assistance from the Philippine National Police (PNP) in running after online scammers who are tricking the public into license assistance.
“We will enhance our partnership with the PNP-ACG to catch these scammers who are proliferating online. Talamak online itong mga grupo na nag-aalok ng tulong para mapadali umano ang pakikipag-transaksyon sa LTO gaya ng pagkuha ng student permit, lisensya o pag-renew ng sasakyan. Sa huli, nangloloko lamang sila at pineperahan lamang ang publiko,” Mendoza said.
Mendoza said that Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista issued instructions to the LTO to meet with the Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) office of the PNP to further enhance the measures to eradicate the illegal activities of the online scammers.
Mendoza warned online scammers that the LTO would not stop until they are put behind bars.
“Hindi titigil ang LTO at iba pang ahensya ng gobyerno hangga’t hindi nahuhuli ang mga gaya ninyo na nananamantala lamang ng kapwa. We are determined to put you behind bars,” Mendoza said.
Mendoza’s warning came after the LTO-Bicol reminded the public to be vigilant against online scammers who are asking for huge amounts of money supposedly in exchange for services.
LTO-Bicol reports that the victim would just find out that the licenses provided by these scammers were fake.
Scammers used only Facebook in their modus operation when offering their illicit service through buy and sell groups, LTO-Bicol said.
The LTO-Bicol urged netizens to report these groups, such as the ASP Manila, so the public would no longer fall victim to these illegal transactions.
Mendoza also encouraged netizens to be part of this fight against online scammers.
“More than anyone else, kailangan ng mga awtoridad ang tulong ng publiko upang masawata natin itong mga scammers na ito na ginagamit at sinasamantala ang teknolohiya upang makapang-loko ng tao. Huwag kayong magdalawang-isip na ireport sa LTO o sa pulisya kung may impormasyon kayong alam tungkol sa mga grupong ito,” Mendoza said.
