Quick answer

If you suspect an online shopping or social media scam in the Philippines, contact your bank or e-wallet provider immediately, preserve the evidence, and report the incident through the appropriate government channel.

Use these routes according to what happened:

What you need	Where to start
Stop further account access or dispute a payment	Your bank, card issuer, e-wallet, or payment provider’s official fraud channel
Report suspected online fraud and obtain reporting assistance	1326, the government’s Inter-Agency Response Center hotline
Request a criminal investigation	PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group or NBI Cybercrime Division
Seek help with an online seller’s consumer-law violation	The platform’s complaint process, followed by DTI, where applicable
Escalate an unresolved complaint against a BSP-supervised financial institution	Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, after first complaining to the institution

The government identifies 1326 as a reporting and referral channel, while PNP-ACG and NBI handle law enforcement. A hotline report, payment dispute, consumer complaint, and criminal case serve different purposes. None automatically guarantees recovery of your money. See the official DICT reporting guidance published by the Philippine Information Agency.

1. Act immediately to protect your money and accounts

Do not send another payment to “release” your order, process a refund, unlock your account, or recover money already lost.

Contact the payment provider using its official app, the number printed on your card, or contact details you independently obtain from its website. Avoid numbers and links supplied by the suspected scammer.

Tell the provider:

The amount, transaction date and time, and reference number.
The recipient account name, number, bank, or e-wallet, as displayed.
Whether you personally approved the payment or someone accessed your account without permission.
Why you believe fraud occurred.
Whether you disclosed a password, PIN, one-time password, card details, or identification document.

Ask the provider to secure your account, record a fraud complaint, and assess available tracing, holding, recall, or dispute measures. Request a case reference number and written instructions for any supporting documents.

Describe an authorised payment accurately. If you willingly transferred money because of a false advertisement, say that. Do not describe it as an unauthorised transaction simply because the seller failed to deliver.

If an account may be compromised, change its password from a trusted device, secure the linked email account, end unfamiliar sessions, and enable multifactor authentication. Contact your mobile provider if you suspect someone has taken control of your SIM.

Can the bank or e-wallet hold the money?

Republic Act No. 12010, the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act, provides a framework for temporarily holding disputed funds and coordinating verification. It also provides for institutional liability in specified circumstances, including failure to employ adequate controls or make a required hold. Reimbursement depends on the facts and applicable requirements; it is not automatic whenever someone reports a scam. See RA 12010, Sections 6–10.

Under BSP Circular No. 1215, series of 2025, complaint-initiated holding begins through the originating institution’s fraud-reporting channel. The rules provide an initial holding period of up to five calendar days, with an extension of up to 25 calendar days under the prescribed conditions. A longer hold requires a competent court’s extension under the law.

These are holding periods, not a deadline for victims to report or a promise of repayment. The institution must assess whether the transaction meets the regulatory grounds. An ordinary disagreement about delivery or product quality does not, by itself, establish those grounds.

2. Preserve evidence before the account or listing disappears

Save what you can immediately, but do not delay an urgent call to your payment provider while preparing a perfect evidence folder.

Keep:

The advertisement or listing: screenshots, product description, advertised price, photographs, listing link, and date accessed.
The seller’s account: profile or page link, username, visible account identifier, contact numbers, and claimed business details.
Complete conversations: messages before payment, payment instructions, delivery promises, refund requests, and later explanations or threats.
Payment records: receipts, transaction confirmations, bank or e-wallet statements, reference numbers, and recipient details.
Delivery evidence: tracking history, waybill, packaging, courier communications, and photographs of what actually arrived.
Complaint records: platform tickets, bank reference numbers, emails, acknowledgments, and responses.

Retain original files and messages where possible. Keep unedited screenshots as well as any copies you mark for explanation. Back up the evidence somewhere you can still access if your phone or account becomes unavailable.

Write a short timeline while the details are fresh. Record what was promised, what you relied on, when you paid, when delivery was due, and why you now suspect deception.

A displayed account name or uploaded ID is a lead, not conclusive proof of the perpetrator’s identity. Record how you obtained it and let investigators verify the connection.

3. Report the seller and transaction to the platform

Use the platform’s official order-dispute, refund, fraud, or impersonation process. Reporting a profile may be separate from opening a refund dispute, so check both options.

Identify the transaction, explain the problem, attach evidence, and state the remedy you want. Ask the platform to preserve relevant account and transaction records for an investigation.

Keep the submission date and acknowledgment. Check the platform’s actual dispute and appeal deadlines; do not assume another buyer’s deadline applies to your order.

The seven-day internal complaint rule

For transactions covered by the Internet Transactions Act, Section 24 requires use of the platform, marketplace, or e-retailer’s internal redress mechanism before filing a complaint in court or with an appropriate government agency, or pursuing alternative dispute resolution. That mechanism is deemed exhausted when the complaint remains unresolved after seven calendar days from filing. See RA 11967, Section 24.

This is not a seven-day period for doing nothing. Immediately secure your accounts and notify your payment provider. Where fraud is suspected, seek police or NBI assistance promptly and disclose any pending platform complaint. If no usable complaint mechanism exists, preserve evidence of that problem and ask the receiving agency how to proceed.

4. Report suspected fraud to PNP-ACG or NBI

A criminal investigation is appropriate when the circumstances suggest deliberate deception, account takeover, impersonation, or another offence.

You can seek assistance from PNP-ACG, or approach a police station for referral to the appropriate cybercrime unit. The 1326 hotline can also help direct your report.

NBI’s published cybercrime reporting procedure

The NBI’s Citizen’s Charter provides for cybercrime complaints by email at ccd@nbi.gov.ph and through walk-in reporting. It lists a government-issued ID, printouts of evidence, and available photographs or videos among the requirements. Its walk-in procedure includes an interview and execution of a sworn statement. The listed complaint-receiving service has no fee. See the NBI Citizen’s Charter, Cybercrime Division procedures.

Prepare your chronology and evidence before attending. Confirm the receiving office and any submission arrangements, particularly if you live outside Metro Manila.

An email submission does not mean a case is already pending in court. Ask for acknowledgment, the assigned reference number, and instructions about further statements or appearances.

What to include in your account of the incident

Explain, in plain language:

How you encountered the seller, advertisement, or message.
What the person represented about the product, identity, business, or transaction.
Why that representation caused you to pay or disclose information.
How much you lost and how the payment moved.
What happened afterward.
Which documents or witnesses support each important fact.

You do not need to choose the final criminal charge yourself. Investigators and prosecutors assess the evidence and applicable offence.

Ask whether investigators need to request preservation of platform or financial records. Continue responding to lawful requests and keep your contact details updated.

5. Use DTI for an appropriate consumer complaint

DTI is relevant when the issue concerns an online business’s obligations to a consumer—for example, misleading product claims, non-delivery, or a disputed refund within DTI’s jurisdiction.

The Internet Transactions Act covers qualifying business-to-business and business-to-consumer internet transactions. It excludes genuine consumer-to-consumer transactions outside the ordinary course of business. A business selling through social media is not automatically excluded just because it uses a personal-looking account. See RA 11967, Sections 3–4.

DTI’s published filing channel is the Consumer Complaints Assistance and Resolution System. Its official complaints page also directs complainants outside Metro Manila to the appropriate provincial office. For technical problems using the system, DTI lists consumercare@dti.gov.ph.

Prepare the seller’s available details, proof of purchase or payment, your explanation, supporting communications, and the remedy requested. Include your earlier platform complaint and its outcome.

A DTI complaint does not replace a criminal investigation. If the seller appears fictitious or has disappeared with your payment, explain that clearly and also seek law-enforcement assistance.

6. Escalate an unresolved bank or e-wallet complaint to BSP

First raise the complaint with the financial institution itself. If it remains unresolved, you may escalate it through BSP Online Buddy, or BOB.

BSP also accepts its completed Complaints, Inquiries and Requests form at consumeraffairs@bsp.gov.ph. Include:

Your complaint to the institution and its reply, if any.
Relevant transaction records and reference numbers.
A concise explanation of the unresolved issue.
The resolution you are requesting.
Contact details where BSP can reach you.

Use the form and access instructions on BSP’s official consumer-assistance page.

This process concerns the financial institution’s handling of your financial product or service. It is separate from investigating the seller or prosecuting a scammer.

When is an online transaction legally a scam?

A missed delivery or unpaid refund does not automatically establish estafa. There may be a consumer violation or contractual breach even where the evidence does not establish a crime.

For estafa by deceit, the prosecution must establish a fraudulent representation made before or at the time of the fraud, reliance that induced the victim to part with money or property, and resulting damage. These requirements are explained in Capulong v. People, G.R. No. 199907, February 27, 2017.

For example, evidence that someone used a fabricated business or imaginary stock to obtain payment may be relevant to deceit. A delivery delay alone does not prove the same thing.

When an offence under the Revised Penal Code is committed through information and communications technology, Section 6 of the Cybercrime Prevention Act may apply. Computer-related fraud and identity theft also have their own statutory elements; every dishonest online sale is not automatically the separate offence of computer-related fraud. See RA 10175, Sections 4 and 6.

Deadlines and recovering your money

Report promptly. Do not wait for a promised refund if the person keeps demanding more money or evidence is disappearing.

Different remedies have different deadlines:

Platform and payment disputes: obtain the applicable deadline directly from the provider and keep proof of timely submission.
Damages under the Internet Transactions Act: Section 28 specifies two years from the time the cause of action arose. This is not a universal deadline for every scam-related claim. See RA 11967, Section 28.
Criminal and other civil actions: the applicable period depends on the offence or legal basis and relevant facts. Have a lawyer assess it if time has passed.

Do not assume that a hotline call, platform report, or bank ticket stops a legal filing period.

Recovery may involve a platform refund, a successful payment dispute, a settlement, or a civil claim. An investigation may help identify the responsible person, but collection can remain difficult if the person cannot be located or has no recoverable assets.

Before filing overlapping proceedings, obtain advice about the proper forum and how any civil claim relates to the criminal case. Disclose related complaints and any money already returned.

Common mistakes to avoid

Deleting chats or closing an account too early. Preserve the evidence first.
Relying only on screenshots of the seller’s profile. Connect the account to the representations, payment instructions, and transaction.
Paying a “recovery agent” who guarantees results. Independently verify anyone offering assistance; never hand over account passwords or OTPs.
Posting IDs, account numbers, or accusations publicly. Provide relevant evidence privately to the proper institution or authorities.
Treating a bank transfer as automatically reversible. Ask what remedy is actually available.
Closing a dispute because a refund was promised. Verify that the money has arrived and understand the effect of closing the complaint.
Exaggerating the facts. Separate what you personally know from what you suspect.

When help is urgent

Seek immediate assistance if someone still controls your account, transfers are continuing, you disclosed financial credentials, or the scam involves threats, blackmail, stalking, or physical danger.

Get legal help promptly if a substantial amount is involved, multiple people were affected, a filing deadline may be near, or you are asked to sign a waiver, settlement, or affidavit of desistance. Understand the document before signing it.

Frequently asked questions

Can I report a scam if I do not know the seller’s real name?

Yes. Provide the username, profile link, telephone number, recipient account details, and transaction records you have. Explain that the person’s identity is unverified. Identifying a respondent for formal proceedings may require further investigation.

Can I report a small loss?

Yes. Do not assume a loss is too small to report. Give the exact amount and supporting evidence; authorities will assess the appropriate action.

What if I have no official receipt?

Preserve alternative evidence, including payment confirmations, order records, messages, and delivery documents. Explain what is missing. The strength of the complaint depends on the evidence as a whole.

Can I still complain if I approved the transfer or shared an OTP?

You can still report what happened. Be candid about your actions. Approval or disclosure does not prevent reporting, but it may affect the investigation, available remedies, and allocation of responsibility.

Can I report a seller who has blocked me?

Yes. Save the remaining records and evidence that communication is no longer possible. Report through the platform and appropriate government channel rather than repeatedly paying or creating new accounts to contact the seller.

Will reporting guarantee a refund?

No. Reporting starts an assessment or investigation. Recovery depends on the evidence, available funds, applicable rules, and the outcome of the relevant process.

This article provides general Philippine legal information, not advice for a particular case. Source-check date: 18 September 2026.