With AI-powered scams on the rise, Yamsuan bats for workers’ financial literacy programs to protect them from fraud

Representative Brian Raymund Yamsuan has called on the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to help protect workers amid the alarming rise in online investment scams and other forms of digital fraud by educating them on how to wisely invest their hard-earned money and detect bogus financial schemes.

With scammers now using artificial intelligence (AI)-generated tools to dupe people, Yamsuan said many Filipinos continue to fall victim to investment fraud. Independent estimates show that the average loss is about P45,000 from these scams.

“The DOLE can team up with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to spearhead a campaign that would make user-friendly financial literacy materials readily accessible to the public through various communication platforms,” Yamsuan said.

Among the AI-powered scams that have continued to surface on social media are fake investment opportunities supposedly being endorsed by San Miguel Corporation (SMC) chairman and CEO Ramon Ang and Ayala Corporation chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala. Scammers use deepfake technology to make it appear that Ang and Zobel are promoting fake investment schemes that require minimum funding for supposedly excessively high returns.

“Kung ang mga scammer ay kayang magpakalat sa social media ng mga posts at videos tungkol sa mga pekeng investments na too good to be true dahil ang pang-akit nila ay mabilis lalaki ng pera mo, dapat ay mas kaya ng mga ahensya ng gobyerno na magsanib puwersa para ma-kontra ang mga ito sa pamamagitan ng pamamahagi ng mga financial literacy materials online,” added Yamsuan, who is aspiring for a congressional seat as representative of Parañaque’s 2nd District in next week’s midterm elections.

(If scammers can spread posts and videos about fake investments that are too good to be true because they entice you by claiming your money will grow quickly, then government agencies should even be more capable in countering these by joining forces to disseminate financial literacy materials online.)

Government agencies including government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) can also integrate financial literacy programs into their operations to benefit state employees, Yamsuan said.

Yamsuan also proposed that the DOLE provide incentives to employers conducting financial literacy seminars for their workers.

“Improving the financial literacy of Filipinos by providing them with the knowledge and skills to effectively manage and invest their hard-earned money and detect fraudulent financial schemes is the best way to protect them from scammers who will not stop but will only continue to evolve with new and more sophisticated means to deceive people,” Yamsuan said.

According to global credit reporting agency TransUnion, 74 percent of Filipinos were targeted by digital fraud schemes in late 2024 by email, phone call, text messaging or online postings. Of this figure, 34 percent reported losing money with an average loss exceeding P44,700.

TransUnion’s data indicate that the suspected digital fraud rate in the Philippines stood at 13.4 percent in 2024, which is significantly higher than the global rate of 5.4 percent. The Philippines has consistently registered a suspected digital fraud rate higher than the global average for five consecutive years, according to TransUnion.

Consumer rights groups have also raised concern over the growing threat from Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) catchers, which mimic legitimate cell towers to hijack mobile communications and use these to impersonate legitimate telecom signals. This scheme makes it appear that scam messages come from legitimate companies to trick cellphone users into revealing sensitive personal and financial data.

In the present Congress, the House of Representatives had already passed on third and final reading a bill that requires employers to establish a financial literacy program for all their workers.

Yamsuan has filed a similar measure, which includes a provision ensuring that financial literacy materials be made available to the public in an easily comprehensible format, and translated in Filipino, Bicolano, and other relevant regional languages and dialects, to ensure a wider reach for their intended audience.