By Dexter Barro II
Published Jul 22, 2025 05:27 pm
Filipinos are increasingly being targeted on social media platforms and messaging apps as scammers move away from traditional text and call scams, according to anti-fraud app Whoscall.
In its latest scam report, Whoscall said reports of suspicious links have surged 28 percent in the second quarter to 18,735 from 13,602 in the first quarter.
These links often lead to malicious websites that pose a potential threat to users’ security, privacy, or finances when clicked or visited.
The majority of these are circulated on social media sites like Facebook and messaging platforms such as Viber and Telegram.
Links related to online gambling recorded a 76 percent jump to 4,303 reports in the second quarter, as scammers capitalize on its growing popularity.
Similarly, links related to promotions, rewards, and incentives saw a 57 percent surge to 4,497, exploiting Filipinos’ desire to earn quick money.
Loan-related links rose, meanwhile, rose by 20 percent to 9,930, with scammers alluring victims through attractive loan deals.
Mel Migriño, country head and general manager of Whoscall developer Gogolook, said the increase of scams in social media was driven by the ongoing crackdown against text- and call-based scams.
“The joint effort of the government and private sectors minimized scam calls and SMS scams,” she said. “However, scam actors are now shifting to other platforms, such as social media and messaging apps, to continue their operations.”
Based on Whoscall’s report, the number of text scam incidents dropped by 95 percent year-on-year.
From 1.28 million reports in the second quarter last year, only 65,035 cases were recorded this year.
The number of scam calls also saw a steep decline, from 135,535 reports in the same period last year, it fell 74 percent to 34,964 this year.
With the rise of scams in social media, Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) said the challenge for the government is to crack down on deceptive content embedded in apps where Filipinos spend most of their screen time.
