Over 6 million text scams recorded in 2024 in PH — Whoscall

A total of 6,157,517 text short message service (SMS) scams were reported in the Philippines in 2024, according to caller identification service provider Whoscall on Wednesday.

Mel Migriño, the country head for Whoscall’s developer Gogolook, said that most of the text scams were monitored in the fourth quarter last year with 2,079,968.

“The data shows that the fourth quarter accounted for the largest share, comprising 33.8 percent of the total SMS scams recorded in 2024,” Migriño said in a statement.

December, including the holiday season, had the highest number of reported text scams that reached 708,005.

Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) executive director Undersecretary Alexander Ramos pointed out a shift in text scam schemes during the last quarter.

“Spoofing scams, where scammers impersonate official SMS channels of telcos, e-wallets, digital banks, and other brands by sending messages containing malicious links, have become more prevalent,” Ramos said.

“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,” he added.

Around 600,000 Filipinos fell prey to text scam in 2024. Most of these were reported in the fourth quarter also with 201,760, according to Whoscall.

“Many are in need of cash or extra income during the holiday seasons,” Ramos said.

In June last year, the CICC already warned the public against the proliferation of text scams.

The CICC advised the public not to post photos of their IDs, bank accounts, credit cards, and billing statements on social media or the internet.

It added that the public should consult with their bank manager should they have any problem with their bank accounts, and not to share details of their digital wallet with bank accounts with strangers.
—RF, GMA Integrated News