Holiday shopping heightens threat of online scams
This season of gift-giving coincides with shopping malls offering Christmas sales, which also drive consumers’ digital spending. As celebration and year-end promotions come together, cybersecurity firms are raising the alarm on a surge in online scams.
According to recent threat intelligence data by cybersecurity firm Kaspersky, from January through October 2025, there were some 6.4 million shopping phishing attempts, with the scams posing as online shops, banks, and other payment platforms. Nearly 50 percent were aimed at online shoppers.
Adrian Hia, Kaspersky managing director for Asia-Pacific, called the attention of Filipino online shoppers to this threat, noting that “during the holiday season, attackers capitalize on time-pressured shopping and transactions to exploit lapses in user vigilance. This makes awareness and consistent security practices especially important.”
With many Filipinos now opting for digital payments, delivery services, and social commerce for greater shopping convenience, Kaspersky advises shoppers to be wary about “too-good-to-be-true” promotions, or urgent payment requests sent via messaging apps.
These scams use phishing emails and text messages disguised as official alerts from delivery services, banks, or e-wallet providers, prompting users to click on harmful links or disclose sensitive information.
Identity theft
Shoppers must also be keen about fake online stores and promotion pages luring customers with unrealistic low prices. These are typically circulated through social media advertisements or messaging platforms.
Some pretend to be sellers, customer support agents, or even known contacts asking for fraudulent payment across messaging applications.
A separate report by Appdome revealed that nearly half of Filipinos fear identity theft most when shopping online during the holiday season. Further, about 75 percent delete or abandon their applications due to fraud or security reasons.
This means that amid the growing threat of compromised security, Filipinos remain cautious of suspicious digital transactions.
Per the latest Philippine Statistics Authority data, the country’s digital economy accounts for 8.5 percent of the gross domestic product, with P2.25 trillion in 2024. This is mainly driven by digital infrastructure, e-commerce, content, and government services.
