Cybercrime Complaints Surge in 2024, Tripling Previous Year’s Figures

The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) reported a dramatic increase in cybercrime complaints in 2024, with a total of 10,004 cases filed, a stark contrast to the 3,317 complaints recorded in 2023. This surge was highlighted by CICC Executive Director Undersecretary Alexander Ramos, who noted that the financial impact on victims reached nearly PHP198 million last year. Ramos linked the rise in reported incidents to heightened public awareness and a greater readiness to report cybercrimes. He pointed out that in earlier years, many victims were unaware of being scammed or did not know where to report such incidents. The breakdown of the complaints showed that consumer fraud, including non-delivery of goods or services and deceptive ads, accounted for 35% of the total with 3,534 cases. Online fraud, encompassing financial fraud, impersonation, job and investment scams, and romance scams, made up 32% with 3,242 complaints. Other reported cybercrimes included unsolicited communications, illegal access, identity theft, sexual cybercrimes, phishing, and cyberlibel. Ramos also mentioned that GCash was the most commonly used digital wallet among victims of consumer fraud, online fraud, and phishing, with losses amounting to PHP76.49 million. Other platforms affected included BPI, GoTyme, and PayMaya, with losses of PHP28.47 million, PHP15.38 million, and PHP13.99 million respectively. Ramos urged scam victims to use the government’s toll-free hotline 1326, which is available 24/7, including holidays.