CitizenWatch Philippines, a citizens' rights group, emphasized the need for a "whole-of-society strategy" to effectively tackle the ongoing scam attacks targeting individuals, businesses, and consumers in the country.

The group stressed the importance of this strategy, especially in light of the emergence of new malicious tactics targeting internet users.

“We reiterate our call for all sectors to unite against online scammers. We must be informed, stay vigilant, and behave responsibly in the digital world as we are expected to be while offline in the real world,” CitizenWatch Philippines Lead Convenor Orlando Oxales said in a statement.

He then pointed out that while there have been some gains in the government’s anti-cybercrime efforts, scammers continue to target millions of internet users every minute with increasingly cunning and culturally customized tactics.

“Scammers are employing devious tactics that will deceive their target to engage imposter accounts that will lead to malicious links with malware, clone branded advertisements to trick users to purchase the fake products, and offering job opportunities that are too good to be true,” Oxales said, noting that tech-powered fraudsters are now using creative strategies to deceive their targets into engaging with them.

This will eventually lead to financial scams or fraudulent transactions by stealing sensitive information.

In November 2023, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC), an attached agency to the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), cautioned the public to be "extra careful" while doing Christmas shopping.

This warning came, as the Philippines recorded the highest shopping scam rate among 11 Asian countries.

READ:

https://mb.com.ph/2023/11/23/ph-records-highest-shopping-scam-rate-among-11-asian-countries

“Scam syndicates are getting more creative in carrying out phishing, smishing, and fraud attacks”, Oxales said.

“Scammers will say anything to trick their targets into that they are getting a great deal such as unbelievable cheap offers for expensive branded items and high job salaries among others,” Oxales added.

He further advised consumers that the "first line of defense is to have a 'ZERO TRUST' attitude when we are online and to be always on guard of messages and content we receive on our devices.”