With renewed focus on the safety of travelers in mind, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced that registration with the eTravel system (electronic travel declaration system) is free of charge and people should avoid scammers who have been targeting travelers using fake websites, according to a Philippine News Agency (PNA) news article.
To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the PNA news article. Some parts in boldface…
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Wednesday warned travelers against scammers purportedly charging fees for the electronic travel declaration system or eTravel.
Commissioner Norman Tansingco clarified that registration in the eTravel platform is free of charge, thus travelers should be wary of unscrupulous elements who charges fees from passengers via fake websites.
“The eTravel registration process is absolutely free of charge. We, therefore, advise the traveling public to register only in the government’s official website at https://etravel.gov.ph,” he said in a statement.
Fees allegedly collected from the passengers amount to between PHP3,000 to PHP5,000 when converted to peso as the fees charged by the scammers are usually in US dollars.
The BI chief urged the public to beware of the such fraudulent websites or entities which require any form of online payment.
Likewise, he asked them to report to the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) via its website at https://cicc.gov.ph/report/.
Tansingco issued the warning following reports of passengers at the airports who claim they have already registered in the eTravel platform and “paid” the supposed fees that were charged to them.
BI officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) have reported instances of many passengers who were surprised when informed that they have to register in the eTravel as the digital QR code they presented could not be accessed in the system.
“It is only when they encounter our officers at the airport that these passengers would realize they have been duped by these fraudsters and scammers in the internet,” he added.
The eTravel was launched earlier this year, and serves as the single data collection platform for arriving and departing passengers. It establishes an integrated border control, health surveillance and economic data analysis.
It is a joint project of the agency with the Department of Tourism (DOT), the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ), the Bureau of Customs (BOC), the Department of Health (DOH), the Department of Transportation (DOTr), the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the National Privacy Commission (NPC).
The project abolished the paper-based arrival and departure cards, as well as the quarantine form.
Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this recent report? Does this latest development make you feel safer to be online? If you had traveled overseas and came back home within the past six months, how was your experience registering with the eTravel system? Did you encounter any scammer online?
You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.
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