67% of Filipinos still don’t report scams to authorities — GASA study

A new study by the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA), titled “The State of Scams in the Philippines 2024,” showed the need to encourage the public to report scams, as many Filipinos still hesitate to report incidents to authorities.

GASA, a pioneering nonprofit organization dedicated to combating scams worldwide, conducted a survey of 1,000 Filipino respondents.

The results showed that 67% of Filipinos did not report scams to law enforcement, while only 31% did.

The survey highlighted the top reasons for not reporting scam incidents: the complexity of the reporting process, a belief that reporting would not make a difference, and uncertainty about whom to report the scam to.

Respondents also cited other reasons for not reporting scams, including fear of not being believed, not considering the incident important enough to report, and being afraid to report it.

The study also indicated that local police departments were the most common choice for scam reporting, followed by the National Police Agency, anti-scam apps or websites, and family members or friends.

On the other hand, data from the GASA report could serve as a foundation for initiatives aimed at encouraging the public to report online scam encounters.

This information could also support the government and advocacy groups in crafting campaigns that raise public awareness and foster a greater willingness to report scams.

Scam data

Out of all the respondents who took part in the State of Scam Survey, 73% expressed confidence in spotting scams — an increase of five percent from 2023 (only five percent admitted they were not [very] confident in identifying scams).

Meanwhile, 67% of Filipinos encounter scams at least once a month, an eight percent rise from last year.

Nearly half (49%) reported facing more scams over the past 12 months, a five percent increase compared to 2023.

Notably, 76% of scams were completed within 24 hours of initial contact, with 31% happening in mere minutes. A smaller four percent of respondents said their scams dragged on for over a year.

Additionally, 67% realized on their own that they had been scammed.

The study also showed that many Filipinos fall victim to scams by acting hastily when drawn to attractive offers, while the promise of rewards lures in others.

In response to the question, “What steps do you take to check if an offer is real or a scam?” many Filipinos said they check reviews on other websites. They then checked reviews on the same page and applied the rule: “If it seems too good to be true, it’s probably a scam.”

Scam channels

In the study, most respondents reported that text messages or Short Message Service (SMS) are the primary delivery method for scams, with a 10% increase from the 2023 report. This was followed by scams on social media sites and instant messaging applications.

Facebook and Gmail, meanwhile, are the most exploited platforms by scammers, while Telegram, WhatsApp, and TikTok round out the top five platforms where people encounter scams.

Trust on the internet has also sharply declined. While 79% of respondents say they now have less confidence in online platforms, just five percent expressed little to no loss of trust due to scams.

Most respondents know that scammers can use Artificial Intelligence (AI) against them, particularly through AI-generated text and images, while more complex voice and video are less widely recognized.

Furthermore, shopping websites are the most common source of scams in the Philippines, followed by investment scams, identity theft, and advance fee scams. Digital wallets remain the dominant payment method used in these scams.

The report also included various testimonials from scam victims, highlighting their experiences.

Some of these testimonials are:

“I was scammed on a website that I thought would make my money grow, but at first I was able to cash out but when I reinvested, it turned out that I could (not) cash out because the requested amount was getting bigger and bigger and that’s when I realized that I was scammed,” one respondent shared.

Another respondent recounted, “My friend on Facebook asked for money to support a charity for persons with disability (PWDs). I thought it was for a charity and (contributed), but I later found out that he was just collecting money for personal needs.”

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