Over 60% of Filipinos targeted by financial scams

Over 60% of Filipino adults experience financial scams each year, with attempts happening nearly every other day and average losses per person amounting to nearly P12,000, according to a survey.

The State of Scams in the Philippines 2025 Report, which is based on a survey conducted by the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA) in collaboration with Mastercard and Whoscall, said 65% of the 1,000 respondents claimed to have been scammed from February 2024 to February 2025, with each victim experiencing an average of 2.3 scams.

Meanwhile, 77% said they encountered a scam in the period for an average of 239 scam attempts per year.

Some 31% of the respondents said they lost an average of P11,896.30 per person to scams, with a total of P280.5 billion stolen for the period.

The GASA said that e-wallets (74%) are typically used by fraudsters to receive illicit proceeds of fraudulent activities, followed by wire or bank transfers (14%).

“When nearly one in three Filipinos loses money to a scam, it’s not just a digital safety issue. It’s a household stability issue. People are cutting back on daily needs, doubting the tools they rely on, and carrying the emotional weight long after the scam is over.

Solving this requires partners working together instead of fighting the problem in silos,” GASA Asia-Pacific Director Brian D. Hanley said in a statement.

The report showed that scams involving investments (65%), unexpected money (64%), and shopping (58%) were the most prevalent type of attacks experienced by Filipino adults.

The GASA said 85% of scam attempts in the Philippines in the period occurred on platforms that have a direct message function, with the top channels being used by scammers being text/SMS message (75%), instant messaging apps (50%), and social media (50%).

“Facebook and Telegram were identified as the top platforms where scams occur, while TikTok and Instagram were the hardest places for victims to immediately recognize fraudulent activity,” it added.

“The study also highlighted who is most vulnerable. Gen Z consumers were found to be the least confident in spotting scams, while Millennials lost the most money on average, at over P14,000 each. Seniors in the Silent Generation (76%) and residents in suburban areas (72%) reported the highest prevalence of scam exposure.”

However, even as they encountered several scams, only 73% of victims said they report these attempts, with 59% of these people saying that either no action was taken (40%) or they aren’t sure what the outcome was (19%).

“No loss of money is the main reason scam encounters don’t get reported,” the GASA said. “Being unsure whom to report scams to was the main reason for not reporting encounters.”

“Almost three quarters reported their scam to the payment service, and one tenth said their money was at least partially recovered,” it added.

Almost half of those scammed said it impacted their well-being (48%), and the majority said it made them feel stressed (88%).

While this resulted in increased vigilance for about half (57%), others had to reduce normal spending behavior (23%) or take on additional debt or loans (20%).

In a sign of improving financial literacy, the survey found that 98% of Filipinos said they take at least one step to check if an offer is real or a scam by checking a brand or seller’s social media page, reading online reviews, or confirming activity on official accounts.

“However, experts warn that these surface-level checks can only go so far, as scammers are increasingly able to clone profiles, fabricate engagement metrics, and mimic verified pages to appear credible. Hence, combatting scammers is not an issue that should fall on consumers alone, but should be supported by the ecosystem at large,” the GASA said. “This calls for an effort among banks, digital platforms, telecom operators, and regulators to improve protections for ordinary consumers.”

It said that to empower consumers, authorities should launch permanent national campaigns to raise scam awareness, establish national helplines for scam victims, and create integrated victim support systems offering financial, legal, and psychological help.

They should also take steps to create a safer digital world by building infrastructural protections with telecoms and tech providers to block scams before they reach consumers and  improving fraud traceability across borders by requiring transparency from sellers, platforms, and payment providers.

“As scams grow more sophisticated, they are no longer isolated incidents — they are a perpetual digital threat, inflicting both financial loss and social trauma. Protecting Filipinos requires systemic cooperation between industries and government to restore trust in the digital economy,” Mastercard Philippines Country Manager Jason Crasto said.

Source: Business World

Why the psychology of ‘utang’ matters for the economy

Debt or “utang” is not just a financial tool anymore. It is the lifeline that keeps many Filipino families afloat. With consumer spending making up about 70 percent of the economy, every peso that is spent keeps the economy moving.

When households keep buying, businesses do well but when they cut back, growth slows down. The tougher reality is that a lot of this spending is sustained by utang, drawn from savings, credit cards or loans simply to keep everyday life moving.

Behavioral finance explains that this behavior is rooted in a concept called present bias, which is the tendency to put more weight on immediate rewards than on future costs.

In the late 1990s, psychologists David Laibson of Harvard University and Ted O’Donoghue of Cornell University published an influential study that revealed how people often choose short-term satisfaction, such as spending or borrowing today, even when it leads to bigger problems later.

This bias explains why households continue to spend, even when incomes fall short, interest rates rise or debt levels grow. The pleasure of maintaining a lifestyle today feels more tangible than the burden of repaying loans tomorrow.

Extension of income

Combined with easy access to credit cards, installment plans and digital lending apps, present bias makes utang feel less like a burden and more like a convenient extension of income.

Recent data on the marginal propensity to consume (MPC) highlight this behavior. Before the pandemic, Filipino households typically spent 58.6 percent of their income in the first quarter, then pulled back midyear, before a sharp surge to nearly 70 percent during the Christmas season. Spending followed a familiar rhythm: spend, save, then splurge at year-end.

Since 2022, however, the pattern has changed dramatically. The first quarter spending rate has dropped to 54.4 percent, while the second and third quarters turned negative at -16 percent and -141.2 percent, respectively.

This means households are not only cutting back but also financing spending by dipping into savings or accumulating debt. Even the usual year-end rebound is weaker, with spending in the fourth quarter at just 61 percent, below prepandemic highs.

A negative MPC is a red flag. It signals that many households are keeping up their spending not with income, but with credit. This is present bias at work. Rather than cutting back, families choose to borrow so they can maintain the same lifestyle, even if it means pushing the real cost further into the future.

When incomes stagnate…

There is only so much households can borrow to keep spending at the same pace. Families stretch themselves to maintain their lifestyles, even when incomes stagnate and inflation eats into budgets. When borrowing fills the gap, the economy may still look steady but once the financial pressure builds, momentum may eventually weaken.

This slowdown is already showing in the data. In the first quarter of 2024, household spending grew by 8.3 percent compared to 2023, but in the first quarter of 2025 the pace slowed to 7.7 percent.

The second quarter tells the same story. Spending grew by 8.9 percent in 2024, but slipped to 6.8 percent in 2025. Taken together, total household spending in the first half of 2025 grew by 7.2 percent, down from 8.6 percent in the same period of 2024. The trend is clear. Growth is losing steam, and with much of consumption propped up by debt, the risks of a sharper slowdown ahead are rising.

Why does borrowing feel so normal? Because it has become part of everyday life. Taking on debt is seen as a practical choice. Credit cards, “buy now, pay later” apps and installment plans make it easy, while social pressures make it hard to say no.

Present bias then blinds households to the consequences. A family that borrows P20,000 at 3-percent monthly interest may end up repaying almost P30,000 in a year.

That money could have gone into savings or investments, but instead it locks them into repayment cycles.

Break the bad cycle

Breaking free from the psychology of utang takes both awareness and discipline.

Families need to recognize that spending habits are not just cultural but also behavioral.

One way to break the cycle is to reframe the question. Instead of asking, “Can I afford the monthly payment?” ask, “What will this really cost me a year from now?” That small shift can turn the focus from short-term comfort to long-term impact.

Debt can keep the economy afloat for a while, but over time it leaves households and businesses weaker. Real resilience comes when families move away from utang-driven spending and focus instead on saving and sustainable consumption.

In the end, stability doesn’t come from borrowing just to look secure, but from building financial strength that lasts.

Source: Inquirer

AMLC: Philippine remains off global dirty money list

The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) confirmed that the Philippines remains off the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)’s gray list following its removal in February this year and has not received similar reports of outdated foreign references still linking the country to the list.

In a statement, AMLC said the Philippines was officially delisted from the FATF gray list on Feb. 21, during the global watchdog’s plenary meeting in Paris, France. The delisting came after the country successfully addressed all 18 action items required to strengthen its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing framework.

“The Philippines remains delisted,” AMLC said, adding that the government continues to implement various initiatives to ensure continued compliance with international standards and prevent relisting.

The clarification comes after the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reported that a close relative of journalist Gretchen Ho was denied foreign exchange service at an Oslo airport on Oct. 6. The incident reportedly stemmed from the use of an outdated list that still included the Philippines under the FATF gray list.

The DFA said it has reached out to the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway to clarify the matter.

The AMLC, however, said it “has not received similar reports of outdated references being used abroad.” It added that the country’s delisting was “disseminated through news coverage, foreign governmental regulatory bulletins, foreign financial institutions’ mechanisms and Philippine embassy or trade channels.”

Among the various initiatives it implemented to ensure continued compliance with FATF standards is the conduct of the third National Risk Assessment, a multi-agency initiative led by the AMLC that evaluates the country’s exposure to money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing risks. The results will help shape targeted mitigation strategies.

The AMLC also cited ongoing work to strengthen its supervisory framework, including updates to enforcement manuals and guidelines to align with FATF recommendations and improve regulatory oversight.

In addition, the council said it continues to enhance inter-agency cooperation by working closely with law enforcement bodies to ensure a “whole-of-nation approach” in investigating and prosecuting financial crimes.

On the legislative front, the AMLC said amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001 are being pursued to address emerging threats and maintain alignment with evolving FATF standards.

The Philippines was first placed under the FATF’s increased monitoring list, or gray list, in June 2021 for deficiencies in its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing systems.

Its removal in February marked the culmination of years of reform efforts by the AMLC, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and other key agencies.

Source: Philstar