(Picture of Vera Victoria)
The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) reports that the majority of these text scams were spoofing scams, wherein official SMS channels of telecommunication companies, e-wallets, digital banks, and other brands were mimicked by sending messages containing malicious links.
The fourth quarter of the previous year recorded the highest number of reported text scams, accounting for 33.8% of all fraudulent texts in 2024.
December saw the highest number of scam reports, particularly during the holiday season, reaching a staggering 708,005.
Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Undersecretary and CICC Executive Director Alexander Ramos revealed that 600,000 Filipinos fell victim to text scams in 2024, especially those related to job offers or loans.
Furthermore, some text scams preyed upon victims' fears of problems with their bank accounts, threatening that their money would be lost unless they clicked on a provided link or shared a one-time pin (OTP) sent by their bank.
"The tone of these spoofing scam messages often creates a sense of urgency, often claiming rewards will expire or passwords are about to become invalid. These messages typically instruct recipients to click on a link to update their information. However, this link is a gateway for scammers to access their victims' digital banking or e-wallet accounts," Ramos explained.
In June of the previous year, the CICC warned the public about the surge in text scams.
They reminded the public not to post their IDs, bank account pictures, credit cards, and billing statements on social media as scammers may use this information for their illicit activities.
