WHILE short message service (SMS) scams have decreased, scam calls rose by 78% in the third quarter of 2025 at 62,390 compared to the previous quarter’s 34,964, according to anti-scam app Whoscall by Gogolook.
Such scams, often involving offers for rewards or loans via call, are expected to surge until the year ends, Gogolook Philippines Country Head and General Manager Mel Migriño said.
“‘Yung mga Pinoy, sobrang hilig nating mag-avail ng rewards at saka loans. So ‘yan ‘yung medyo mainstay doon sa data namin. So if a telemarketer would actually call you offering you, puwedeng rewards, puwedeng you can avail of the loan, tapos delayed ‘yung payment. ‘Di ba may mga ganoon? So that one constitutes part of your third-party scams. So malaki ‘yan, and that will continue to surge until we finish off this year,” Migriño said during Whoscall’s Q3 Scam Report event on October 14 at the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC).
SMS scams, meanwhile, dropped by 42% as the third quarter arrived with 37,609 incidents in comparison to 65,035 in the second quarter of the year.
“The downward trend of SMS scams has continued since Q1. Filipinos are now aware that any SMS from unknown number with link is a text scam,” the Whoscall report reads.
The group Scam Watch Pilipinas expects a surge of scam calls in October and November with scammers set to take advantage of the holiday season, co-founder Jocel De Guzman said.
Scam Watch Pilipinas also plans to talk to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Philippine Marketing Association, and the Philippine Association of National Advertisers about possible regulation surrounding companies’ use of third party agencies to call customers.
Both Scam Watch Pilipinas and CICC Acting Executive Director Renato Paraiso are hoping for amendments to the SIM Registration Act to impose limits as to the number of SIM that may be registered under an individual.
“So, nakalimutan doon na tanggalin ‘yung unlimited number of SIM cards na puwedeng i-register. So, based kasi doon sa mga apprehensions ng mga law enforcement natin, ‘yung nakita doon is 1 person, 600 SIM cards ang naka-register sa kanya. ‘Yung isa, 2,000. And right now, yung mga hinuhuli ni PNP ACG na pino-post niya lagi sa Facebook page niya, mga nagbebenta ng mga SIM card, pre-registered SIM cards. So, ito ‘yung loophole,” De Guzman said.
The Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 is also in need of amendments as a great deal of crimes have yet to be identified under this law, Paraiso said.
Groups at the event also raised the alarm on the use of artificial intelligence for scams.
But Migriño believes this accounts for less than 10% of scams. (ABS-CBN News)
