Philippine mobile malware infections double global average at 16%

Mobile malware infections in the Philippines have reached 16 percent, double the global average of nine percent, according to Appdome.

A significant portion of Filipinos, 54.7 percent, use mobile apps more than websites, and 61.6 percent use e-wallets, making the country a prime target for cybercriminals.

Despite high digital adoption, 45.3 percent of consumers have fallen victim to cyberattacks or malware, and 36.4 percent encountered social engineering scams.

Sixty percent of these infections involve spyware, while approximately 30 percent involve data harvesters that steal personal information.

Meanwhile, Whoscall, a caller ID and anti-fraud app, aims to increase its user base in the Philippines by a million this year, adding to its current 2.2 million users.

A Whoscall report indicates that 72% of Filipinos claim to have encountered a scam, averaging one every two days.

To combat evolving threats, Whoscall has introduced features like Web Checker and Check, which use AI models trained on a vast database to detect and block threats faster.