Scam call incidents jumped 78% in 3rd quarter of 2025

There were 62,390 recorded scam calls in the third quarter of 2025, a significant 78.44% increase from the previous 34,964 scam calls in the second quarter, according to anti-scam application Whoscall.

While there was a decrease in SMS scams, the scammers shifted to making scam calls, exploiting the common practice of financial institutions of using third-party telemarketing agencies that offer promos, like rewards or credit card limit upgrades to customers.

"‘Yung mga Pinoy, sobrang hilig nating mag-avail ng rewards at saka loans. So ‘yan ‘yung medyo mainstay doon sa data namin. So if a telemarketer would actually call you offering you, puwedeng rewards, puwedeng you can avail of the loan, tapos delayed ‘yung payment. ‘Di ba may mga ganoon? So that one constitutes part of your third-party scams," said Mel Migriño, the Gogolook Philippines country head and general manager, during a briefing on Tuesday. 

On a year-on-year basis, scam calls dropped 62.24% during the third quarter, compared to last year.

Scam Watch Pilipinas co-founder Jocel De Guzman also noted the rise was due to the use of artificial intelligence in making scam calls, which particularly targets credit card users who cannot discern AI.

Migriño added that the scam calls are expected to surge by the end of the year, especially during the holidays.

The SMS scams, meanwhile, recorded 37,609 incidents, a 42.17% decrease from the 65,035 recorded text scams in the second quarter of 2025.

"Nagkaroon na ng significant level of awareness 'yung public na kapag nakatanggap ka ng message tapos meron 'yang link, in most cases that message is malicious or isa siyang form ng SMS scam," Migriño explained.

To push back, De Guzman hopes for amendments to the SIM Registration Act to impose limits on the number of SIMs that may be registered under an individual.

“So, nakalimutan doon na tanggalin ‘yung unlimited number of SIM cards na puwedeng i-register. So, based kasi doon sa mga apprehensions ng mga law enforcement natin, ‘yung nakita doon is one person, 600 SIM cards ang naka-register sa kaniya. ‘Yung isa, 2,000. And right now, yung mga hinuhuli ni PNP ACG na pino-post niya lagi sa Facebook page niya, mga nagbebenta ng mga SIM card, pre-registered SIM cards. So, ito ‘yung loophole,” De Guzman said.

Meanwhile, PNP Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center Acting Executive Director Aboy Paraiso said they're also pushing for amendments.

"2012 pa siya, marami pang crimes na hindi na-i-identify dun. So that's another one… Mahirap sa digital world ngayon ‘yung mga workers in government, medyo na-poach na. So we're also looking for Magna Carta for ICT workers. So DICT, CICC can be more competitive when it comes to retaining ‘yung mga professionals natin,” Paraiso said.