The Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG) stated on June 25 that the masterminds behind most of the recently cracked online fraud cases have shifted from foreigners to locals. Many suspects were previously employed by government-shutdown POGO companies, mastering the technology and then setting up their own operations to continue organizing online fraud locally.
Brigadier General Bernard Yang of the PNP-ACG highlighted at the "Manila Bay Press Forum" that Philippine online fraud has become "localized" and no longer relies on foreign manipulation. "Previously, these scam patterns were mostly dominated by foreign groups, but now we see Filipinos themselves replicating, executing, and spreading these methods."
Police data shows that from December 2024 to June 20, 2025, a total of 608 cybercrime suspects were arrested nationwide, of which only 7 were foreigners, and 116 have been convicted by the courts.
More concerning is that some of the scam equipment was found at former POGO sites that had been sealed, including mass texting systems, fake base stations (IMSI Catchers), and various scam scripts. Some former POGO employees returned to the sites to retrieve equipment, either to rebuild scam gangs or to resell for profit.
The fraudulent activities also involve multiple illegal operations, such as the resale of pre-registered SIM cards (violating the "SIM Registration Law"), manipulation of financial accounts (violating the "Anti-Financial Fraud Law"), and illegal intrusion into electronic systems.
Despite President Marcos Jr.'s announcement in his July 2024 State of the Nation Address that all POGO platforms would be completely banned, citing them as hotbeds of human trafficking, fraud, and illegal detention, the ban, a year later, has not eradicated scams but has instead shifted them towards more elusive, small-group, underground operations.
Brigadier General Yang warned: "Online fraud is now decentralized, relying on individuals and small groups, building their own networks and scripts, making them hard to trace." He called for the government to strengthen inter-departmental cooperation, invest in law enforcement technology, and enhance national anti-fraud awareness.
The police remind the public to be wary of common scams such as "earn tens of thousands daily" part-time job ads, fake customer service requests for transfers, and malicious SMS links that induce clicking, and not to be tempted by the lure of high returns. Although scams have transformed, their erosion of societal trust and harm to the general public remain unchanged.
