Shopping scam rate in PH highest in Asia

The Philippines has the highest shopping scam rate in Asia, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center said.

Based on the 2023 Asia Scam Report, the country’s shopping scam rate has risen to 35.9 percent, the highest among 11 Asian countries surveyed.

The report was based on data collected from nearly 20,000 respondents in the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, China and Indonesia.

The CICC said that 24.8 percent of Filipino victims responded too quickly to scammers’ demands and 21.1 percent chose to take a risk.

Shopping scam was one of the nine mainstream scam scenarios and techniques identified in the Asian countries surveyed. Other scams included identity theft, investment scam, government/bank scam, job scam, lottery scam, family/relatives scam, bill payment scam and charity scam.

CICC Executive Director Alexander Ramos urged the public to be careful when they do their online shopping especially during the Christmas season.

“Based on our observation, shopping scams usually increase during the Christmas season,” he said. “Scammers take advantage of the high volume of online shopping and people’s vulnerability during this period.”

The CICC said victims of shopping and other cybercrimes can call 1326.