Quezon City — Text message scams in the Philippines dropped sharply by 86.6% in 2025 as fraudsters increasingly shifted to call-based schemes, particularly by impersonating banks and credit card issuers, according to a report released by caller ID and anti-fraud application Whoscall.
Speaking at a press conference held at the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) on Thursday, Whoscall Philippines country head Mel Migriño said the total number of scam SMS messages recorded in 2025 fell to 822,634, down from 6,157,517 in 2024.
Whoscall attributed the significant decline to the shutdown of scam hubs, stronger blocking measures by telecommunications companies, and heightened public awareness.
“Scammers have shifted to call-based scams, operating like telemarketing firms while impersonating banks and credit card issuers,” the report stated.
Despite the shift, reported scam calls also declined by 21.84%, dropping from 610,688 in 2024 to 477,302 in 2025. Data showed a notable decrease in reported scam calls from the third quarter, which logged 62,390 incidents, to the fourth quarter, which recorded 28,294.
Meanwhile, SMS scam activity saw a spike in the latter part of the year, with reported cases rising from 37,609 in the third quarter to 71,751 in the fourth quarter. Whoscall attributed this increase to the use of international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) catchers, which can impersonate brands or send link-based messages without displaying sender numbers.
Overall, however, SMS scams maintained a downward trend across the first three quarters of 2025.
Risky URLs on the Rise
The report also highlighted a steady increase in “risky URLs,” or suspicious links embedded in scam messages that redirect users to fraudulent websites. These rose from 13,602 in the first quarter to 49,431 in the fourth quarter of 2025.
“This trend indicates that phishing will dominate the scam landscape in 2026, becoming more aggressive and widespread across all digital channels, including SMS, messaging apps, email, and other online platforms,” Whoscall said.
In the fourth quarter, “loans and rewards” links accounted for the majority of risky URLs, making up 63% or 31,142 reported cases. These were followed by:
- Collections/harassment scams: 9,936 cases (20.1%)
- Travel scams: 3,954 cases (8%)
- Others, including telemarketing delivery scams: 4,103 cases (8.3%)
- Gaming-related scams: 297 cases (0.6%)
Migriño also presented data from Scam Vault PH, a community-driven reporting platform, which recorded 155 SMS or instant messaging scam reports, 188 social media scam reports, and 28 malicious URL or phishing link reports from June to December 2025.
Scam Vault PH is operated by Scam Watch Pilipinas in partnership with Gogolook Philippines, the CICC, and the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group.
Authorities urged the public to remain vigilant, avoid clicking on suspicious links, and report suspected scams through official platforms as cybercriminals continue to adapt their tactics.
Carlo Juancho FuntanillaFrontend Developer, WordPress, Shopify
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