Gambling scams rise 76% as fraudsters exploit gaming surge

MANILA, Philippines — Scammers are now using online gambling sites to prey on Filipino victims by luring them with promises of quick returns.

Latest data from scam prevention app Whoscall showed that Filipinos are no longer dealing much with scam calls or texts, but are now being targeted by fraudsters on social media, especially on Facebook.

In particular, reports of risky links picked up by 38 percent to 18,735 in the second quarter, from 13,602 in the first quarter, highlighting how scams are migrating to online channels.

Online gambling links recorded the highest surge at 76 percent, to 4,308, as scammers exploited Filipinos’ fondness for betting games. Currently, policymakers are crafting tighter regulations on online gambling, from preventing underaged gaming, to limiting daily buy-in.

Apart from this, links that promote fake incentives, promos and rewards jumped by 57 percent to 4,497, still taking advantage of the desires of many Filipinos to earn quick money. Online loan links also spiked by 20 percent to 9,930, as scammers abused the growing popularity of digital lending to lure victims.

Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center deputy executive director Renato Paraiso said his agency is uncovering as many as 20 illegal gambling sites every day.

These sites are turned over to the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) for verification, and if found operating illegally, are blocked from Philippine domain.

Paraiso said his agency is ready to take on a larger role in scanning the web for illegal gambling platforms once stricter regulations are issued.

Mel Migriño, country head of Whoscall developer Gogolook, said text scams fell by 90 percent to 65,035 in the second quarter, from 648,239 in the first quarter. Moreover, Whoscall observed a similar decline in scam calls, to 34,964, from 351,699.

Call, text scams down

Migriño said Filipinos are now more informed about text scams, and most of them are no longer entertaining them. However, Filipinos are finding it difficult to navigate the online realm, where scams are more challenging to distinguish.

Whoscall, an app developed by Taipei-based Gogolook, can detect scam-linked numbers through its global phonebook, alerting users if calls they are receiving are coming from bad actors.

Recently, Whoscall introduced a new feature that enables users to check the authenticity of a content by uploading an image of it on the app.

A network of digital advocates, meanwhile, has urged Meta – the company behind social media platforms Facebook and Instagram – to take down pages of influencers that allegedly promote illegal online gambling.

Digital Pinoys identified 20 influencers and social media pages with a combined following of over 44 million users as among those who are allegedly promoting illegal gambling operations.

At least four of these pages have been suspended on Facebook, Digital Pinoys national campaigner Ronald Gustilo said. — Janvic Mateo, Neil Jayson Servallos