Filipinos top targets of online love scams

Inquirer files

MANILA, Philippines — Looking for love online? Be wary of finding the wrong love in cybercriminals who have been targeting Filipinos and cashing in on this.

A study by global information and insights company TransUnion showed that 18 percent of suspected digital fraud attempts in the communities industry, which includes online forums and dating websites, originated from the Philippines for the first half of the year.

This was the highest percentage among 19 countries surveyed, representing a 35 percent increase from last year.

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The suspected digital fraud rates in seven markets, including the Philippines, were also above the global average of 5.2 percent.

Cyber fraud refers to malicious activities launched online to trick users into revealing their personal information, which the criminals can use for financial gain.

Evolving

“Digital scams are constantly evolving. The growth of communities also creates more avenues for scammers to potentially defraud consumers,” Yogesh Daware, chief commercial officer at TransUnion Philippines, said in a statement Tuesday.

“With rising community fraud rates in the Philippines aligning with global findings, there is a need to focus efforts on educating consumers about these types of attacks and disseminating preventive measures that consumers and businesses can take to protect themselves from falling victim,” Daware added.

The retail sector, while flat from a year ago, came next with 12.7 percent in attempt rate. The public sector also posted a higher suspected digital fraud rate in the first six months at 4.6 percent. Four industries recorded lower suspected digital fraud rates, namely financial services, logistics, travel and leisure, and telecommunications.

TransUnion said that the fraud attempts were “most prevalent” at the account login stage, 11 percent up from a year ago.

Top modus

The latest report, it said, supported TransUnion’s recent consumer pulse study for the second quarter, which found that 70 percent of Filipinos were being targeted through email, online, phone calls, or text messaging.

Phishing continued to top cybercriminals’ modus in finding their victims. Other common methods included smishing or sending fake text messages, money and gift card scams, third-party seller scams on legitimate e-commerce sites, vishing or voice phishing, identity theft, money mule, and account takeover.

“The latest findings from TransUnion reveal that despite the good-faith efforts by global and local organizations to identify and prevent fraud, fraudsters continue to evolve and it’s vital that fraud prevention methods keep up with the changing times,” Daware said.

“Businesses that aren’t already doing so should ensure that they are taking advantage of fraud prevention technologies … to stay ahead of evolving threats,” he added.