Trust remains the foundation of how people and businesses interact online—enabling payments, messaging, and the sharing of personal information. But growing scam activity is putting that trust under pressure, making users more cautious while also challenging legitimate brands to maintain confidence and clarity in their communications.

A new ASEAN Consumer Scam study shows that 52% of Filipinos have experienced scams at least once, a rate higher than in neighboring countries. Meanwhile, data from the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA) reveals that Filipinos face scam attempts nearly every two days—around 239 attempts per year—resulting in an estimated average loss of ₱11,896.3 per person.

Despite increasing awareness, scams continue to evolve in complexity. Rakuten Viber notes that fraud has entered a “professionalized” phase, where attackers now leverage artificial intelligence and advanced social engineering to create highly convincing schemes that are harder to detect and easier to believe.

How modern scams are evolving

Hyper-personalized phishing
Scammers now use generative AI to gather publicly available information and craft messages that closely resemble official communication from banks, telecom providers, or government agencies—making them harder to distinguish from legitimate alerts.

SMS blasters and signal interception tools
Fraudsters deploy devices that mimic or hijack mobile signals, allowing them to insert fake messages into real conversation threads with banks or service providers, making scams appear authentic.

Bridge attacks and multichannel phishing
Victims are often first contacted through trusted platforms like messaging apps or email, then pressured to move to less secure channels such as phone calls or external websites through urgent fake alerts.

AI-generated impersonation scams
Beyond text, scammers increasingly use AI-generated voice or video deepfakes to impersonate friends or family members, replicating tone, speech patterns, and emotional cues to request money or sensitive information.

Fake shopping sites and paid ads
Fraudulent e-commerce platforms now mimic legitimate brands and use paid advertisements to appear credible, tricking users into making purchases or entering payment details on counterfeit websites.

QR phishing (“quishing”)
With the rise of cashless payments, malicious QR codes are being used to redirect users to fake login pages or install malware, putting banking and e-wallet credentials at risk.

Strengthening defenses against fraud

Rakuten Viber emphasizes that combating scams requires both technology and user awareness. The platform uses a hybrid moderation system that combines machine learning with human review to detect and block suspicious activity.

It also provides built-in safety features such as message filtering for unknown contacts, a “Message Requests” folder, caller identification tools, and controls over group invitations. These are supported by end-to-end encryption for private conversations.

Importantly, Rakuten Viber reiterates that it does not have access to users’ private messages and does not sell user conversation data to third parties.

Practical safety reminders for users

The company advises users to adopt simple but effective habits to reduce risk:

  • Pause before clicking links or scanning QR codes
  • Verify the sender or website source carefully
  • Avoid opening unsolicited links or attachments
  • Use a family “safe word” for identity verification
  • Limit sharing of personal or financial information online

As scams become more sophisticated, Rakuten Viber stresses that vigilance is now essential. Staying informed and cautious helps users stay one step ahead of evolving threats—protecting both personal finances and digital trust in an increasingly connected world.