Manila: There were over 6 million scam texts and over 600,000 scam calls recorded in the Philippines last year, with data showing that these fraudulent communications increase per quarter.
According to Philippines News Agency, during a media briefing conducted by the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) alongside trust-tech firm Gogolook, Gogolook country head Mel Migri±o shared that these figures were based on data collected through its Whoscall mobile app. The app documented a total of 6,157,517 scam SMS and 610,688 scam calls in the country for the year 2024.
The data revealed a quarterly increase in scam calls, with Whoscall recording 108,157 calls in the first quarter, rising to 135,535 by the second quarter, 165,236 by the third quarter, and reaching 201,760 by the fourth quarter. Similarly, SMS scams also showed an upward trend, with 1,143,268 texts in the first quarter, escalating to 1,288,811 in the second, 1,645,470 in the third, and 2,079,968 in the fourth quarter of last year.
Among these fraudulent text messages, Whoscall identified 16,553 risky internet links, predominantly involving invitations to register for online services, promotions, insurance, game memberships, financial services, loans, and rewards. Other top dangerous links involved online shopping scams, suspicious payment requests, and job-related scams.
CICC Executive Director, Undersecretary Alexander Ramos, highlighted that these fraudulent texts and calls are often the precursor to scam attacks. In response, he stated that messages containing links or other attachments have been prohibited from being sent by financial technology companies, telecommunications companies, and other related entities. Ramos emphasized ongoing announcements with fintech and telcos, ensuring they do not send messages with attachments.
He further noted the use of fake cell towers as a method for pushing scam SMS directly to phones and pointed out social media platforms as another significant source of these scams. Ramos urged the government to enact laws or amendments to tackle scams originating from social media, akin to how the SIM Registration Act has empowered the CICC and law enforcement to trace scams using SIM cards.
Ramos added that with SIM card registration, authorities have improved their ability to track down perpetrators, reducing the vulnerabilities that existed prior to the implementation of this measure.
