Philippines warns of scam websites targeting incoming travellers

The South Asian country is warning inbound travellers of fake websites soliciting payments for One Health Pass.

Several inbound travellers to the Philippines have fallen victim to digital fraud attempts over entry requirements to the country, losing hundreds of dollars for fake health documents.

For that reason, the Philippines Department of Health (DOH) has put out a call advising all foreign visitors to the country to exercise caution while using any websites that claim to provide information about entry requirements.

The forewarning was made on the Inter-Agency Task Force’s official Facebook page in the Philippines, where the country’s Department of Health (DOH) and Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) have received numerous reports about fake websites that imitate One Health Pass’s (OHP) user interface while asking for money.

Authorities have also stressed that the only official website of the One Health Pass (OHP) for all international travellers arriving in the Philippines can be found here. Sign up is free and does not require any payments online or offline, authorities noted.

Currently, all international travellers are required to register for One Health Pass in “accordance with Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) Resolution No. 135 to prevent and/or minimize the entry of suspected or confirmed individuals with emerging infectious diseases into the country.”

Despite the phishing campaigns, the country has witnessed a 11% decline in suspected digital fraud in the second quarter of 2022, according to a new report by TransUnion quarter fraud.

Qatar is home to around around 250,000 Filipinos, making them the third largest group of expatriates in the Gulf state, according to 2021 statistics.

Source: Philippines warns of scam websites targeting incoming travellers – Doha News | Qatar