In the past 12 months, scammers have stolen nearly ₱460 billion from Filipinos (an average of ₱16,000 per person) through various scams, according to the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (Gasa). This is significantly higher than the ₱155 million reported by the Philippine National Police in 2023.

The study indicated that scams stole the equivalent of 1.9% of the country’s gross domestic product. Up to 39% of Filipinos fell victim to scams but only 3% recover their losses.

The billions of pesos stolen by scammers and the millions of victims are a glaring proof of the inutility of the SIM Card Registration (SIMReg Law) which has been in effect for two years. The law, which required registration of SIM cards and the provision of the owners’ personal details, was touted as a solution to text scams. Not only is the SIMReg Law useless in preventing scams, but it has also made the personal details of millions of telecommunications service users vulnerable to scammers.

The Gasa survey reported that 85% of scams were done through text messages, which is a 10% increase from last year. According to the group, 67% of those surveyed said they encounter at least one scam per month. These scams include text messages offering jobs, lottery winnings, and others.

These messages entice the target victim to click on a link to a website which them ask for their names, phone numbers, addresses, and details of their accounts in banks and e-wallets like GCash and Paymaya. From there, scammers can access and steal from these accounts.

Cybersecurity experts said some links can automatically and inconspicuously install apps on smartphones that can steal data from phones.

Anti-scam application Whoscall also reported 320,978 scam calls and 3,032,626 text scams in the first eight months of 2024, a 200% increase from the same period in 2023.

Recently, these scams have been linked to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO). However, despite the raids and the Marcos regime’s supposed shutdown of these operations, scams continue to thrive in the country.