The scams people report most, and how to avoid each one
1. Online selling scams: you pay, and the goods never arrive
Consumer fraud is the largest category in the CICC’s figures: 6,453 complaints in 2025, or 35% of the total [1]. In 2024 the CICC described this category as mainly non-delivery of goods and fake advertisements [2]. The PNP-ACG recorded 1,525 online selling scams from 1 January to 4 December 2025, down from 3,025 a year earlier, and said it was still the most common modus it saw [3].[1][2][3][6][11]
Reported in: Social media marketplaces, online shops and chat apps, nationwide
How it works
A seller posts goods at an attractive price and asks for payment first by bank transfer or e-wallet. After the money is sent the seller stops replying or delivers something different from the advert.
Red flags
- A price far below other sellers, with pressure to pay today
- Payment only by transfer to a personal account or e-wallet, never cash on delivery
- A new or recently renamed page with no verifiable address
- Refusal to meet or to use the platform’s own checkout
How to protect yourself
- Use cash on delivery or the platform’s own payment system when you can
- Check the seller’s history and search the account name before paying
- Keep every chat, receipt and screenshot
If it happened to you
- Call your bank or e-wallet at once and ask it to hold the transfer
- Report to the CICC hotline 1326 or the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group
- Report the seller’s page on the platform
Where to report: Your bank or e-wallet first; then the CICC on 1326, the PNP-ACG or the NBI.
2. Investment, "task" and online job scams
Online fraud was the second-largest category for the CICC in 2025, with 4,243 complaints or 23% [1]; in 2024 the CICC said it covered financial fraud, impersonation, job, investment and love scams [2]. The PNP-ACG logged 291 investment and task scams in 2025, down from 1,101 [3]. In April 2026 the SEC listed the red flags it keeps seeing: pitches through messaging apps, private chat groups joined by referral, people pretending to represent registered firms, "limited slots", payments to personal accounts and no documents [9].[1][2][3][9][10]
Reported in: Facebook, Telegram, WhatsApp, Viber and other chat apps
How it works
You are added to a group or messaged with an offer of daily profits, or a part-time "task" job that pays you for simple online tasks. The first small payouts are real, to build trust. Then you are asked to deposit larger amounts to "unlock" earnings or reach a higher level, and withdrawals are refused until you pay a "tax" or "fee".
Red flags
- Guaranteed or very high returns, or pay for simple online tasks
- Being asked to deposit money to start a job or withdraw earnings
- Payment to a personal bank or e-wallet account rather than the company
- Claims to be linked to a well-known company, with no documents
How to protect yourself
- Check whether the company and its offer are registered with the SEC before investing
- Never pay to get a job or to withdraw your own money
- Leave chat groups that pressure you with "limited slots"
If it happened to you
- Stop sending money, even to "recover" what you lost
- Report to the SEC through its i-Message portal or hotline 0910 990 1998
- Report the fraud to the CICC (1326), the PNP-ACG or the NBI
Where to report: SEC i-Message portal or 0910 990 1998; CICC 1326; PNP-ACG; NBI.
3. Fake bank, e-wallet and BSP messages, phishing calls and money mules
The BSP says it does not take part in personal transactions and never asks the public to send money or pay fees for clearances, taxes or insurance; it also reminds the public that banks are not allowed to send clickable links by SMS, email or messaging apps [6]. The PNP-ACG recorded 80 vishing (voice phishing) cases in 2025, down from 589 [3]. Under the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (Republic Act No. 12010), using, lending, selling or renting your account for scam money, or recruiting others to do so, is money muling and a crime, and getting someone’s account details by pretending to act for a bank is social engineering [8]. In June 2026 the BSP warned account holders again not to let others use their bank or e-wallet accounts [7].[6][7][8][3][11]
Reported in: SMS, calls, email and chat apps, nationwide
How it works
A text says your account is locked or a reward is waiting, with a link to a fake bank or e-wallet page. Or a caller poses as bank, e-wallet or BSP staff and asks for the OTP that has just arrived. A separate trick offers you money to "receive a transfer" in your account or to hand over a spare account, which makes you the money mule.
Red flags
- A link in a text or email that claims to come from your bank or e-wallet
- Anyone asking for your OTP, PIN or password
- A message using the BSP’s name to ask for a fee or a transfer
- An offer to pay you for using, renting or buying your account
How to protect yourself
- Never click links in bank texts; open the official app or type the address yourself
- Never share an OTP, PIN or password with anyone
- Never lend, sell or rent your bank or e-wallet account
If it happened to you
- Call your bank or e-money issuer at once; under RA 12010 it can hold disputed funds for up to 30 days while it checks
- Report BSP impersonation to bspmail@bsp.gov.ph or (02) 8811-1277
- Report the fraud to the CICC (1326), the PNP or the NBI
Where to report: Your bank or e-wallet first; BSP for messages using its name; CICC 1326; PNP; NBI.
4. Identity theft and hijacked social media accounts
The CICC received 1,626 identity theft complaints in 2025, 9% of the total [1]. The PNP-ACG recorded 183 cases of hijacked profiles and identities in 2025, down from 604 the year before [3].[1][3][11]
Reported in: Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and chat apps
How it works
A fraudster takes over an account, often after the owner enters a code or password on a fake login page, or copies a profile. Friends and relatives then receive urgent messages asking for a loan, an e-wallet transfer or a load. Stolen ID photos are also used to open accounts or borrow in someone else’s name.
Red flags
- A friend asking urgently for money by chat and refusing a voice call
- A message asking you to send a code that arrived on your phone
- A login page reached through a link rather than the app
How to protect yourself
- Turn on two-factor login and never share login codes
- Call the person on a known number before sending money
- Do not post photos of your IDs, cards or boarding passes
If it happened to you
- Recover the account through the platform and warn your contacts
- Report to the CICC (1326), the PNP-ACG or the NBI
- Tell your bank if your ID or account details were exposed
Where to report: The platform; CICC 1326; PNP-ACG; NBI.
5. Illegal recruitment and fake jobs abroad, including scam hubs
The DMW handled 479 illegal recruitment cases in 2025 and, with the platforms, took down 85,538 recruitment posts and pages that year and 170,140 from 2022 to November 2025 [17]; by September 2026 it put the total at about 230,000 and said online and third-country recruitment were the top trafficking schemes [12]. In 2025 it assisted 2,021 Filipinos who were trafficked into scam hubs in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar [17], and in February 2026 it said that if a job offer does not pass through the DMW, that is the number one red flag [13]. Its April 2026 advisory warns about fake jobs linked to the crisis in the Middle East [14], and in July 2026 it warned about recruiters offering Gulf jobs at 600 to 800 riyals or dirhams on tourist visas, some of them leading to forced criminality [16].[12][13][14][15][16][17][19][20]
Reported in: Facebook, TikTok, Telegram and WhatsApp; recruiters in Metro Manila and the regions
How it works
A recruiter on social media offers a well-paid job abroad, often in the Gulf, Europe or Asia, with fast departure. You are asked for placement, training or visa fees, told to travel on a tourist visa, or sent through a third country. Some victims end up without a job; others are forced to work in online scam operations.
Red flags
- A recruiter who only uses Facebook, TikTok, Telegram or WhatsApp
- Departure on a tourist visa, or through another country, for work
- Fees asked before you see a contract or receive an official receipt
- A salary that looks too high, or a meeting outside an agency office
How to protect yourself
- Check the agency’s licence and the job order on the DMW website
- Never pay without a contract and an official receipt
- Never leave for work abroad on a tourist visa or through fixers or travel agencies
If it happened to you
- Report to the DMW Migrant Workers Protection Bureau, (02) 8721-0619 or airtipinfo@dmw.gov.ph
- If you are already abroad, contact the nearest Migrant Workers Office or Philippine embassy
- Keep payment receipts, chats and the recruiter’s details for the case
Where to report: DMW Migrant Workers Protection Bureau; the Migrant Workers Office abroad; the PNP or NBI.
6. Online lending apps, loan scams and debt shaming
From 1 January to 10 February 2026 the CICC received 278 reports about online lending apps, involving 75 apps of which only 23 were registered with the SEC [4]. About half of the reports involved harassment and shaming of borrowers; others involved loan scams, misleading terms and advance fees. People aged 18 to 29 were the most affected [4].[4][10]
Reported in: Lending apps and loan offers on social media
How it works
An app or page offers a fast loan with few requirements. It may ask for an advance fee and never lend, or lend on terms that turn out very different from what was promised. Some lenders then harass borrowers and shame them publicly to force payment.
Red flags
- A lender that asks for a fee before releasing the loan
- An app that wants access to your contacts and photos
- Unclear interest, or a much smaller amount received than agreed
- A lender you cannot find in the SEC’s records
How to protect yourself
- Borrow only from lenders registered with the SEC
- Do not give a loan app access to your contacts
- Never pay a fee to receive a loan
If it happened to you
- Keep screenshots of threats and messages sent to your contacts
- Report harassment and loan scams to the CICC on 1326
- Report the lender to the SEC
Where to report: CICC 1326; the SEC.
7. Love scams
The CICC’s 2025 love scam report counted 123 complaints from 63 women and 56 men, mostly aged 18 to 29. Half came from the National Capital Region, about a quarter from CALABARZON and about a quarter from Filipinos overseas. Telegram, WhatsApp and Instagram were the most used platforms, and the CICC said more than ₱20 million had been recovered for victims [5]. It warned that fraudsters now use AI and often move a new contact to a private app within two days [5].[5][11]
Reported in: Dating apps, Instagram, Telegram and WhatsApp; Filipinos overseas are often targeted
How it works
Someone you meet online becomes affectionate quickly and moves the chat to a private app. After weeks of contact there is a sudden emergency, or an investment you are invited to share. The requests for money continue until the victim stops paying.
Red flags
- A new contact who wants to move to a private app within days
- Refusal to video call, or a video that looks unnatural
- Any request for money, gifts, e-wallet transfers or an "investment" together
How to protect yourself
- Never send money to someone you have not met in person
- Search the person’s photos and name before trusting them
- Talk to family or friends before you send anything
If it happened to you
- Stop paying and keep the chats
- Report to the CICC on 1326, the PNP-ACG or the NBI
- Report the account on the app
Where to report: CICC 1326; PNP-ACG; NBI.
City by city
Metro Manila (NCR)
Half of the CICC’s 2025 love scam complainants were in the National Capital Region [5]. Many recruitment cases are found here too: in February 2026 the DMW said the PNP had shut two unlicensed agencies, one of them in Quezon City [13], and in August 2026 the PNA reported that about 30 illegal recruitment operations had been closed in Metro Manila [18].[5][13][18][11][19]
- An office in Metro Manila does not prove a licence: check the agency and the job order on the DMW website
- You can report to the NBI through its online report page, or at any police station
Where to report: CICC 1326; PNP-ACG; NBI; DMW for recruitment.
CALABARZON (Region IV-A), including Cavite
About a quarter of the CICC’s 2025 love scam complainants were in CALABARZON [5]. The second unlicensed agency closed in the February 2026 police operations was in Cavite [13].[5][13][19][20]
- Ask any recruiter for the agency’s DMW licence and the approved job order, and check both online
Where to report: CICC 1326; PNP-ACG; DMW for recruitment.
Cordillera (CAR) and Baguio
The DMW’s Cordillera office said in May 2026 that labour trafficking into scam hubs was the most common pattern it saw in the region, and listed five warning signs: pay that looks too high, an unlicensed agency or no approved job order, a payment asked in advance, a tourist visa for work, and meetings away from the agency’s office [15].[15]
Where to report: DMW regional office; PNP; CICC 1326.
Visayas and Mindanao
Recruitment fraud is not only a capital-region problem. In August 2026 the PNA reported an arrest in Iloilo in a case of promised jobs in New Zealand for which applicants were asked to pay ₱100,000 to ₱300,000 [18]. Online selling, investment and bank scams reach every region through the same apps, so the national channels apply wherever you live.[18][1][14]
- Never pay a recruiter for a job abroad without a DMW-approved job order and an official receipt
- Report online scams to the CICC on 1326 from anywhere in the country
Where to report: CICC 1326; PNP; NBI; DMW for recruitment.
Filipinos overseas
A quarter of the CICC’s 2025 love scam complainants were overseas [5], and the DMW says its Migrant Workers Offices abroad help workers who have been recruited illegally or trafficked [12]. The DMW has repeatedly warned about jobs in the Gulf offered at very low pay on tourist visas [16] and about fake jobs that are really placements in scam hubs [17].[5][12][16][17]
- Contact the Migrant Workers Office or the Philippine embassy in the country where you are
- If the scam started online, you can still report it to the CICC (1326) and to your bank at home
Where to report: Migrant Workers Office or embassy; DMW; CICC 1326.
Where to report a scam in the Philippines
Channels named in official statements or on official pages, checked on 22 October 2026.
| Situation | Channel | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Money taken from your bank account or e-wallet | Your bank or e-money issuer at once; it can hold disputed funds for up to 30 days under RA 12010 | BSP; RA 12010 |
| Any online scam, hacked account or lending app harassment | CICC Inter-Agency Response Center hotline 1326 | CICC (via PNA and GMA News) |
| You want the police to investigate | PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group, through the PNP contact page or any police station | PNP; BSP |
| You want the NBI to investigate | NBI online report page (nbi.gov.ph, Report to NBI) | NBI |
| A message or caller using the BSP’s name | bspmail@bsp.gov.ph; (02) 8811-1277 | BSP |
| An investment offer or unregistered lender | SEC i-Message portal (imessage.sec.gov.ph); hotline 0910 990 1998 | SEC |
| Illegal recruitment or a fake job abroad | DMW Migrant Workers Protection Bureau, (02) 8721-0619, airtipinfo@dmw.gov.ph | DMW Advisory 22, s. 2026 |
| A Filipino worker abroad who needs help | The Migrant Workers Office or Philippine embassy, and the host country’s labour ministry (below) | DMW |
Call your bank or e-wallet first, within minutes, with times, amounts and screenshots, then report. Banks and the BSP never send clickable links or ask for an OTP, so treat anyone who does, or who offers to recover your money for a fee, as part of the scam.
Six habits that stop most of these scams
The warnings from the CICC, PNP-ACG, BSP, SEC and DMW come down to a few rules.
- Never share an OTP, PIN, password or login code with anyone, whoever they say they are
- Never click links in texts that claim to come from your bank or e-wallet; banks are not allowed to send them
- Never pay first to get a job, a loan, a prize or a "guaranteed" return
- Check investments with the SEC and jobs abroad with the DMW before paying
- Never lend, sell or rent your bank or e-wallet account
- Prefer cash on delivery or the platform’s own checkout when buying online
If you have lost money: the first hour
Speed matters, because scam money is moved on quickly through other accounts and wallets.
- Call your bank or e-wallet hotline and ask it to block the account and hold the transfer
- Report to the CICC on 1326, or to the PNP-ACG or the NBI, with times, amounts and account numbers
- Keep screenshots, links, chats and receipts
- Do not pay anyone who promises to recover the money
If the scam happened while you were working in the Gulf
Many of our readers are Filipinos working in the Gulf. If you were cheated there, by an employer, an agent or an online fraudster, you can complain to the labour ministry and police of the country where you work, and the Migrant Workers Office there can help you; our scam guides for the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain, linked below, list their channels in full, and our OFW guide covers contracts and recruitment. If the agency that sent you is in the Philippines, or the money went to a Philippine account or e-wallet, the Philippine channels above also apply.
- UAE: the MOHRE app or website, or the Labour Claims and Advisory Centre on toll-free 80084; u.ae lists the signs of labour and visa fraud [22], [21]
- Saudi Arabia: HRSD’s amicable settlement service through Qiwa or the unified number 19911; domestic workers through Musaned [23], [24]
- Qatar: the Ministry of Labour’s Unified Complaints and Disputes Platform; 16505 for fraud or requests for unofficial payments [25], [26]
- Oman: the Ministry of Labour’s free labour complaints e-service or 80077000 [27]
- Kuwait: the Public Authority for Manpower’s labour complaint service, which is separate from reporting a violation [28]
- Bahrain: Ministry of Labour complaints on 17873637 or 17873919; for exploitation or trafficking, the LMRA hotline 995 [29], [30]
- In the Philippines: the DMW Migrant Workers Protection Bureau for the agency that sent you, the CICC on 1326 for online fraud, and your bank [14], [1], [6]
Before you pay anyone: three checks
Most of the fraud on this page asks you to pay first. Three checks cut the risk.
- An investment or loan offer: is the company registered with the SEC, and does the offer come with documents rather than a chat link?
- A job abroad: is the agency licensed by the DMW, and is there an approved job order for that position?
- A caller or text from a bank, e-wallet or the BSP: did you hang up and contact the institution through its official app or number first?