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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider Alarming rise in love scams: Filipino profiles jump 450% in just one year

Alarming rise in love scams: Filipino profiles jump 450% in just one year

Published Feb 13, 2025 07:53 am

Filipinos are increasingly becoming vulnerable to romance or love scams as the number of potentially fraudulent individuals or entities surged in 2024, Moody’s data revealed.

“The number of Filipino entities and people with potential links to romance scams (‘romance scam profiles’) saw a rapid surge to 45 in 2024 versus 10 in 2023,” Moody’s said in a report.

Globally, Moody’s identified nearly 1,200 new individuals and entities linked to love scams in 2024—the highest number in six years.

Also in 2024, the Philippines ranked seventh globally for the highest number of entities and people with potential ties to romance scams.

Specifically, the US accounted for the largest share of new romance scam profiles among the top 10 countries, making up 38 percent of reported cases.

It was followed by Nigeria (14 percent), India (12 percent), the UK (11 percent), Malaysia (five percent), China (five percent), the Philippines (four percent), Brazil (four percent), Canada (four percent ) and Australia (3 percent).

“Criminals often seek to launder the money generated from romance scams like sextortion via the traditional financial system,” the report said, noting that the banks of victims could have their reputations damaged, in addition to corresponding fines.

Sextortion refers to a type of love scam targeting teenagers, particularly boys.

“Perpetrators use fake profiles to solicit explicit images or videos from victims, then extort money by threatening to expose the images to friends, family or on social media,” said Moody’s.

According to Moody’s, these financial grooming scams spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic because the extended lockdowns led to “a greater need for emotional connection,” thus an increased vulnerability.

Notably, the number of fraudsters and scammers multiplied rapidly by 57 percent in 2021—at the peak of the pandemic. This had reversed that 29-percent drop seen in 2020.

On love scam victims

Elmore O. Capule, deputy governor for the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) corporate services sector, earlier advised love scam victims about the procedure in addressing their cases.

According to Capule, the first requirement would be that victims “should realize that he or she is being scammed,” noting that the challenge lies in the victim’s ability to realize the scam as banks are not prohibited to block transactions if the account holder is of legal age and sound mind.

Once the victim realizes the fraud, they can file a complaint with the bank, which can then intervene and stop the transaction under the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA).

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