Scam calls surge, SMS scams drop Q1 2025

Whoscall, an anti-scam mobile app developed by Gogolook, reported a significant decline in scam messages but a surge in scam calls in the Philippines for the first quarter of 2025.

During a briefing at the National Cybercrime Hub on Wednesday, Gogolook Philippines Country Head Mel Migriño said SMS scams dropped to 648,239 from 2.1 million in the same period last year.

However, scam calls increased by 74.32 percent to 351,699 compared to the fourth quarter of 2024 and grew by 225.17 percent compared to the first quarter of 2024.

CICC Executive Director Alexander Ramos highlighted that most of these scam calls were made through social media platforms like Viber due to outdated registries, emphasizing the need for regular updates from telecommunications companies.

In response, Whoscall introduced a 'Content Checker' feature using AI to detect artificial intelligence-driven scams and assess credibility across various online platforms without using uploaded images for training.

Whoscall emphasized that it would not use uploaded images for AI training and highlighted the importance of staying protected as technology evolves.