Filipinos urged to fight scams, fraud with AI

scamcheck.ph helps users assess suspicious messages in Tagalog, Bisaya, and Taglish.

A new AI-powered online tool aims to help users spot scams before they lose money, as efforts to prevent online fraud gain ground.

The Bank Marketing Association of the Philippines (BMAP) launched an industry-wide campaign promoting scamcheck.ph on Monday, October 12, encouraging Filipinos to verify suspicious messages and offers before clicking links, sharing personal information, or sending money.

The “Ang Mahal ma-Scam, i-scamcheck.ph Mo Muna” campaign was introduced during a forum at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Head Office in Manila, alongside the Philippine kickoff of the regional Scam Ready ASEAN programme.

scamcheck.ph allows users to paste suspicious messages or upload screenshots for an AI-assisted assessment in Tagalog, Bisaya, or Taglish. Users can also forward suspicious emails to check@scamcheck.ph for a plain-language risk assessment.

The website also offers guides to common scams, tips for verifying financial institutions and suspicious messages, accounts from scam victims, and instructions for reporting fraud and securing compromised accounts.

However, the platform cautions that AI-assisted assessments may be inaccurate. Users should independently verify suspicious claims, particularly those involving money or account access, and avoid uploading screenshots containing passwords, account numbers, or one-time PINs.

The campaign coincides with Scam Ready ASEAN, a regional initiative led by the ASEAN Foundation with funding from Google.org. The program aims to equip three million people across Southeast Asia with practical scam-prevention skills and train 2,000 master trainers to share these lessons in their communities and organizations.

The initiative brings together financial institutions, regulators, technology companies, telecommunications firms, and law enforcement agencies to help strengthen online fraud prevention and consumer protection.

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