A legislator has urged the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to help protect Filipino workers from the growing number of AI-powered online scams by educating them on how to wisely invest their earnings and spot fraudulent schemes.
Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan warned that more Filipinos are falling victim to sophisticated investment fraud, with scammers now using artificial intelligence tools to deceive people. Independent estimates show that the average loss from such scams is around P45,000.
“DOLE can collaborate with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to lead a campaign that makes user-friendly financial literacy materials easily accessible to the public through various communication platforms,” Yamsuan said.
Among the scams circulating on social media are fake investment opportunities allegedly endorsed by San Miguel Corporation chairman and CEO Ramon Ang and Ayala Corporation chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala. Scammers use deepfake technology to make it appear that the two business leaders are promoting get-rich-quick schemes that require minimal investments for unusually high returns.
“If scammers can flood social media with posts and videos about fake investments that are too good to be true—luring people with promises of quick profits—then government agencies should be even more capable of working together to counter these efforts by distributing financial literacy materials online,” added Yamsuan, who is seeking a congressional seat in Parañaque’s 2nd District in next week’s midterm elections.
Yamsuan also suggested that government agencies, including government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs), integrate financial literacy programs into their operations to benefit public sector employees.
He further proposed that DOLE offer incentives to employers that organize financial literacy seminars for their workers.
“Improving the financial literacy of Filipinos by equipping them with the knowledge and skills to manage and invest their money—and to detect fraudulent schemes—is the best defense against scammers, who are only becoming more creative and sophisticated,” Yamsuan said.
According to global credit reporting agency TransUnion, 74 percent of Filipinos were targeted by digital fraud schemes in late 2024 through email, phone calls, text messages, or online posts. Of those targeted, 34 percent reported actual financial losses, with an average amount exceeding P44,700.
TransUnion also noted that the Philippines recorded a suspected digital fraud rate of 13.4 percent in 2024—significantly higher than the global average of 5.4 percent. The country has posted higher-than-global-average fraud rates for five consecutive years.
Consumer rights groups have likewise raised alarms over the rising threat of Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) catchers—devices that mimic legitimate cell towers to hijack mobile communications. These tools can spoof telecom signals and make scam messages appear as though they’re coming from legitimate companies, tricking users into giving away sensitive personal and financial information.
