Social media scams are exploding: a new cybercrime wave hits PH—who should pay?

The major drop in text and call scams has pushed fraudsters to platforms like Facebook and TikTok. The debate over platform liability is now critical.  

The great scam pivot: text declines, URLs surge

The strategic pivot by fraudsters follows major successes in law enforcement against traditional methods.

In the second quarter of 2025, anti-scam app Whoscall recorded a 37.7 percent surge in URL-based scams on social media, a sharp pivot from traditional text and call scams, which fell dramatically from over 6.1 million cases in 2024 to just 648,239 in Q1 2025, according to the Philippine News Agency.

Authorities attribute the sharp decline to coordinated crackdowns on cybercrime, with more than 5,000 suspects arrested and at least 12 scam hubs dismantled nationwide in the first half of the year. 

Risky URLs on the rise

Anti-scam app Whoscall, working with citizen-led initiative Scam Watch Pilipinas, continues to monitor the shift. Even as text scams fall, risky URLs are on the rise.

Malicious links shared on social media platforms and messaging apps such as Viber and Telegram rose by 38 percent in the second quarter, reaching 18,735, up from 13,602 in the first quarter of 2025. The majority of these web scams were loan-related, which saw a 20 percent increase.

Experts warn that with rising social media penetration and booming e-wallet and digital payment adoption, more Filipinos are at risk than ever from these platform-based schemes.

Weaponizing trust: impersonation and AI fraud

Modern scammers are exploiting user trust with increasingly sophisticated methods, even targeting high-profile officials.

The extensive reach of fraudsters caught the Philippine National Police in their crosshairs when they used the name of then-PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) acting director Brig. Gen. Bernard Yang to extort money. Fake Facebook pages used his identity to falsely offer assistance in cybercrime investigations for a fee, resulting in at least one victim sending  ₱10,000 to the scammer.

The Tech for Good Institute noted that scams are now using AI-generated voice calls to imitate loved ones, urgently asking for financial help. To combat this AI-driven fraud, Whoscall has launched a “Content Checker” feature, which uses its database and large language models to analyze content and assess credibility across SMS and social media.

Fighting back: PNP collaboration with Meta and TikTok

The PNP-ACG is actively collaborating with technology giants to strengthen its investigation efforts:

• Meta Partnership: The PNP-ACG is working with Meta (the parent company of Facebook) and various online payment platforms to trace transactions and gather information on those behind the scams.
• TikTok Collaboration: The PNP-ACG has partnered with TikTok after the video-sharing platform became a popular channel for cybercriminals, especially following the introduction of its buy-and-sell feature, which can be exploited for online selling scams. This partnership aims to strengthen and speed up investigation efforts.

The global debate: making social media platforms pay

The Tech for Good Institute noted that scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated and emotionally manipulative, with fraudsters now using AI-generated voice calls to imitate loved ones urgently asking for financial help.

Whoscall has launched a “Content Checker” feature to help detect AI-driven scams through screenshots. The new tool uses Whoscall’s database and large language models to analyze content and assess credibility, helping users evaluate potential scams across SMS, social media posts, and messages.

Another idea gaining traction abroad is to make social media companies reimburse victims if scammers used their platforms to commit fraud. Politico reported that the European Union is adopting this approach.

Under the rules agreed upon by the European Parliament and Council, banks must reimburse victims if a fraudster impersonates the bank. Social media companies, in turn, would need to compensate banks if they fail to remove a scam that the bank has reported.

Despite crackdowns and platform collaborations, scammers continue to stay a step ahead. Fake accounts and scam campaigns can run for days or weeks before removal, giving fraudsters time to launch new schemes. Policing sprawling, fast-moving social media networks remains a daunting challenge, leaving many users vulnerable even as authorities fight to keep up.

 

 

Authorities are stepping up raids and platform collaborations, but the escalating crisis, fueled by sophisticated AI-driven fraud, is making the question of social media platform liability harder to ignore.

 

 

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