Philippines among hotspots of scam operations

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has become one of the hotspots for scam operations in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN Foundation executive director Piti Srisangnam said.

Previously, scam hotspots in ASEAN were concentrated on the borders between Cambodia and Thailand and Cambodia and Vietnam, but they have spread following military operations.

”It has not only happened in Cambodia anymore. We see some activities in the borders of Myanmar, in the Philippines and in Timor-Leste as well,” he told a briefing.

Citing the Global Anti-Scam Alliance report, Srisangnam said Filipinos lost an estimated P121.8 billion to scams over the past year, with digital wallets emerging as the primary channel used to transfer money to fraudsters.

The report also showed that 84 percent of Filipino adults encountered at least one scam attempt in the past 12 months, up from 77 percent in 2025.

Srisangnam identified investment fraud, romance scams and fear-based schemes as common tactics used by scammers.

Amid the proliferation of these crimes in the country, the Scam Ready ASEAN program kicked off in the Philippines. The capacity-building initiative seeks to equip three million people across Southeast Asia with practical skills to recognize, avoid and respond to online scams.

The event was led by the Bank Marketing Association of the Philippines (BMAP), together with the ASEAN Foundation and Google.org and in collaboration with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

“At the BSP, we believe that as digital finance becomes more accessible, it must also become safer. We are proud to do our part in building a more vigilant, more resilient and truly Scam Ready ASEAN,” BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. said.

In the Philippines, the program aims to reach one million beneficiaries, according to BMAP director for programs Pewee Villanueva.

It aims to develop 2,000 Master Trainers who will help spread scam awareness and prevention lessons in their respective communities and organizations.

The program will also introduce the Scam Ready game, an interactive tool designed to help users recognize fraudulent schemes and make safer decisions online. The localized version of the game is targeted to be fully released in December to January.

BSP Deputy Governor Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said combating scams requires action and collaboration beyond raising awareness.

”Protecting consumers is a shared responsibility and by working together, we can build stronger safeguards to protect Filipinos, their hard-earned savings and the trust they place in our financial system,” she said.

BMAP also launched “Ang Mahal ma-Scam, i-scamcheck.ph Mo Muna,” an industry-wide campaign that encourages people to verify information before clicking links, responding to messages, sending money or sharing personal information online.