Philippine banks widen campaign for AI-assisted scam checker

The Bank Marketing Association of the Philippines (BMAP) is broadening promotion of ScamCheck.ph, a website that uses AI to assess potentially fraudulent messages, as banks and technology partners expand efforts to help Filipinos identify scams.

Metrobank and civic technology group BetterGov.ph developed the site in late 2025. Users can submit message text or screenshots for assessment, read about scam methods, share accounts of fraud and find reporting guidance.

Jennifer Ng, BMAP director and programme lead for the Scam Check Movement, said banks, public agencies, telecoms companies and other organisations are being encouraged to supply genuine communications as training material. The aim is to help the tool distinguish legitimate messages from impersonations.

Google’s Be Scam Ready game takes a different approach: players make choices as a character encounters scam scenarios, then receive feedback. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Deputy Governor Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said on October 12 that repeated warnings were insufficient. She said the central bank is collaborating with BMAP and behavioural science specialists to make warnings more effective before consumers transact.

A Global Anti-Scam Alliance report for 2026 found that 84% of Filipino adults surveyed had faced a scam attempt during the preceding year. Some 15% reported financial losses, either directly or following the theft of personal information. The survey covered 1,160 adults and put estimated annual losses among Filipinos at ₱121.8 billion.

Google.org has committed US$5 million to the ASEAN Foundation’s Scam Ready ASEAN programme for 2025 to 2027, including training for 2,000 master trainers. In the Philippines, BMAP programmes director Catherine “Peewee” Villanueva said training aims to reach one million people through schools and communities. An initial group of 105 master trainers has been mobilised.