BIZ BUZZ: Risk of more phishing attacks flagged

As geopolitical tensions trigger a surge in local oil prices, they are also heightening the threat of fraud and phishing attacks.

Speaking to experts at the Google.org Impact Summit Asia Pacific in India, Scam Watch Pilipinas said that while businesses pour millions into shielding their servers and systems, humans are left wide open.

“Cybersecurity protects infrastructure. Digital safety protects citizens. Today, it is the user, not the server, that is under attack,” its cofounder Jocel De Guzman said.

Citing data from the World Economic Forum, De Guzman said fraud and phishing—intensified by geopolitical friction as well as artificial intelligence—are now dominating top executives’ concerns, even surpassing ransomware.

In the Philippines, he said the Philippine Anti-Scam Quad Model empowers Filipinos through the 1326 national antiscam hotline and Whoscall, a phone fraud protection app.

After being plagued by scam texts and calls for years, Filipinos are now being targeted using links and fake social media sites, Whoscall 2025 Philippines Scam Report said.