Quick answer

If you paid an online seller or social-media account and believe you were scammed, act immediately:

Contact the bank, e-wallet, card issuer, or payment provider that sent the money. Report the transaction as fraudulent or disputed, ask whether the transfer can be stopped or traced, and obtain a reference number.
Secure your accounts. Change compromised passwords, revoke unfamiliar sessions, enable multi-factor authentication, and block affected cards or accounts.
Preserve the evidence before the seller, post, or account disappears.
Report the seller through the shopping platform or social-media service. If the transaction is covered by the Internet Transactions Act, use the platform’s internal redress process.
Report the suspected crime promptly to the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group, the NBI Cybercrime Division, or a police station.
For a business-to-consumer dispute, file a consumer complaint with the Department of Trade and Industry after using the platform or seller’s internal complaint process.
If your financial institution does not resolve your complaint, escalate it to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

Do not wait for the seller’s promised “refund” before notifying your bank. Money can be transferred through several accounts within minutes, and reporting early gives financial institutions and investigators a better chance of tracing or preserving it. Reporting does not guarantee recovery.

First decide: scam or ordinary consumer dispute?

The proper report depends on what happened.

A suspected scam may involve:

a seller who never intended to deliver;
a fake store, payment page, courier notice, or social-media profile;
a seller who disappears or blocks you immediately after payment;
deliberate use of a false name, stolen identity, fabricated tracking number, or altered proof of shipment;
unauthorized access to your bank or e-wallet account;
deception used to obtain an OTP, password, PIN, card details, or other financial credentials; or
instructions to send payment to an unrelated person or a series of different accounts.

An ordinary consumer dispute may involve a real business that delivered the wrong, defective, incomplete, or materially misdescribed item, or failed to honor an applicable warranty or refund obligation. That conduct can still violate consumer law, but it is not automatically criminal fraud. Criminal liability generally depends on evidence of deceit, fraudulent intent, unauthorized access, or another offense—not simply poor service, delay, or breach of contract.

You do not have to make the final legal classification yourself. Describe the facts accurately and let the appropriate institution assess them.

What to do in the first few hours

1. Call the financial institution immediately

Use only the official number in your banking or e-wallet application, on the back of your card, or on the institution’s official website. Do not call a number supplied by the suspected scammer.

Tell the institution:

that the transaction resulted from suspected fraud or social engineering;
the amount, date, time, transaction reference, and recipient account;
whether you personally authorized the payment and, if so, what deception caused you to do it;
whether your password, PIN, OTP, card number, device, or account may be compromised;
whether there are other pending or unfamiliar transactions; and
that you want the transaction investigated and any legally available hold, recall, chargeback, or account restriction considered.

Ask for a complaint or incident reference number and written confirmation. A transfer you personally approved after being deceived is different from a wholly unauthorized transaction, so describe exactly what occurred. Do not state that you did not authorize a payment if you actually confirmed it.

Under the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act, Republic Act No. 12010, BSP-supervised institutions may temporarily hold funds involved in a disputed transaction under applicable BSP rules. The statutory maximum is 30 calendar days unless a competent court extends it. Whether a hold can actually be placed depends on the facts, the institution’s verification, applicable BSP rules, and whether the money remains within reach.

A report is not an automatic refund. Liability and restitution can depend on matters such as the institution’s security controls, the account holder’s actions, the transaction’s authorization history, and the evidence available.

2. Secure every affected account

If you clicked a suspicious link, installed an application, shared credentials, allowed remote access, or exposed an OTP:

disconnect the affected device from the internet if someone still appears to control it;
contact the financial institution from a different, trusted device;
change the email password first, then banking, e-wallet, shopping, and social-media passwords;
use new, unique passwords rather than variations of the old password;
sign out other devices and revoke unknown sessions;
enable multi-factor authentication;
remove unknown recovery emails, phone numbers, devices, and linked accounts;
block or replace affected cards;
check for unauthorized loans, credit lines, payees, subscriptions, or account changes; and
have the device checked before using it again for financial transactions.

Never give an OTP, PIN, password, recovery code, or screen-sharing access to anyone claiming they need it to process a refund or reverse a transfer.

3. Preserve evidence before reporting the account

Reporting a profile may cause the platform to remove it. First save what investigators and the platform may need.

Preserve:

the full profile, shop, page, group, and listing URLs;
account usernames, display names, user IDs, and profile links;
screenshots and screen recordings showing the listing, price, seller details, and conversation;
the complete chat or email thread, including dates and times;
order confirmations, invoices, receipts, and checkout records;
bank or e-wallet transaction confirmations and reference numbers;
the recipient’s account name, account number, mobile number, QR code, and financial institution;
delivery promises, tracking numbers, courier messages, and parcel labels;
photographs and an unedited unboxing video if an item arrived;
telephone numbers, email addresses, websites, and advertisements used;
voice messages, call logs, and documents sent by the seller;
the platform complaint and every reference number or response; and
a short chronological account written while events are fresh.

Keep original electronic files where possible. Do not rely only on cropped screenshots. Preserve the surrounding conversation and identifying details, but do not publicly post your full bank account number, address, identification documents, or other sensitive information.

Report through the platform or social-media service

Use the platform’s official order-dispute, refund, buyer-protection, or fraud-reporting process. If you checked out and paid outside the platform, buyer protection may be limited, but the account and listing should still be reported.

State:

what was represented;
what you paid and how;
what actually happened;
why you believe the conduct was fraudulent or unlawful;
the remedy requested; and
whether the same seller appears to be targeting other people.

For covered transactions, the Internet Transactions Act of 2023, Republic Act No. 11967 requires e-marketplaces and covered digital platforms to provide a redress mechanism for reporting users or information believed to violate the law.

The Act generally requires an aggrieved party to use the platform, marketplace, or e-retailer’s internal redress process before filing an Internet Transactions Act complaint with a court, government agency, or alternative-dispute-resolution body. The internal process is considered exhausted if the complaint remains unresolved seven calendar days after filing.

That seven-day period should not be treated as a reason to delay:

notifying the bank or e-wallet of suspected fraud;
securing compromised accounts;
reporting an ongoing or urgent crime to law enforcement; or
seeking emergency assistance where threats, identity theft, or continuing unauthorized transactions are involved.

Keep proof of the date you filed the internal complaint.

File a criminal report

Online selling fraud may fall under estafa or another offense under the Revised Penal Code, depending on the facts. If information and communications technology was used, the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, Republic Act No. 10175 may also apply. It covers computer-related fraud and identity theft and addresses crimes under other laws committed through information and communications technology.

A report may be made to:

the Philippine National Police, including its Anti-Cybercrime Group or the nearest police station;
the National Bureau of Investigation, including its Cybercrime Division or the nearest NBI office; or
the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center, including the government’s 1326 cybercrime reporting and assistance channel when available.

Official channels, intake requirements, and office arrangements can change. Confirm current contact details on the agency’s official website rather than relying on social-media comments, forwarded messages, or unofficial directories.

Bring or prepare:

one valid government-issued ID;
your written chronology;
the seller’s identifying and contact information;
the original or exported electronic evidence;
transaction records and financial-institution reference numbers;
platform complaint records;
names of witnesses or other victims, if known; and
copies of any demand, refund promise, or admission.

An initial incident report is not necessarily the complete criminal complaint. Investigators may request a sworn complaint-affidavit, supporting affidavits, device access, certified financial records, or additional authentication of electronic evidence. Tell the truth, separate what you personally know from what others told you, and do not alter files to make them appear clearer.

If the suspect is abroad, uses a false identity, or cannot yet be identified, report anyway. Platforms and financial institutions may hold information that individuals cannot lawfully obtain without proper legal process.

File a DTI consumer complaint when the seller is a business

For a purchase from an online merchant, e-retailer, or business seller, first file through the merchant or platform’s internal redress mechanism. If the matter remains unresolved after seven calendar days, consider filing through the DTI Consumer Care system.

Provide:

your contact details;
the merchant’s business or account details;
proof of purchase and payment;
the advertisement or product description;
correspondence with the merchant;
proof that you used the internal redress mechanism;
the platform’s decision, if any; and
the specific remedy requested, such as refund, replacement, repair, or delivery.

The Internet Transactions Act recognizes remedies for defect, malfunction, loss without the consumer’s fault, failure to conform to warranty, and other merchant liability. Depending on the circumstances, remedies can include repair, replacement, refund, or relief available under the Consumer Act and other laws.

The Act also provides a two-year period for a consumer to file a claim for damages under its damages provision, counted from when the cause of action arose. Other civil, administrative, or criminal claims may be governed by different periods. Do not delay merely because a possible deadline appears distant.

Important exception for private sales

The Internet Transactions Act does not cover a genuine consumer-to-consumer transaction—that is, a private sale between end-users not made in the ordinary course of business. A person who repeatedly sells as a business does not necessarily become a private seller simply by using a personal social-media account.

If the deal was a genuine private sale, DTI’s Internet Transactions Act remedies may not apply. Criminal law, the Civil Code, platform rules, and other applicable laws may still provide remedies.

DTI also does not replace the specialized authority of agencies such as the BSP over regulated financial institutions.

Escalate an unresolved bank or e-wallet complaint to the BSP

First complain directly to the bank, e-wallet issuer, or other BSP-supervised financial institution and retain its response or proof that it did not respond.

If the concern remains unresolved, use the BSP’s Consumer Assistance Channels and Online Buddy. The BSP also accepts its prescribed Complaints, Inquiries and Requests form through the channels stated on that page.

Include:

a concise account of the incident;
the relief you are requesting;
your contact information;
the complaint sent to the financial institution;
its response, if any;
the institution’s case reference number; and
supporting transaction records.

The BSP consumer-assistance process is an escalation and referral mechanism. It does not automatically decide criminal guilt or guarantee reimbursement.

What the law does—and does not—promise

The Internet Transactions Act places primary civil or administrative responsibility arising from an internet transaction on the online merchant or e-retailer. A marketplace or digital platform may incur subsidiary or solidary liability only in circumstances specified by the Act, such as particular failures to exercise ordinary diligence or to act after proper notice. A platform is not automatically liable for every dishonest seller.

A buyer may have several routes at once:

a platform dispute for a refund or account action;
a financial-institution fraud investigation;
a DTI consumer complaint;
a BSP consumer-assistance escalation;
a criminal complaint; and
a civil claim for recovery or damages.

These processes have different purposes. Filing one does not necessarily replace the others, and success in one does not guarantee the same result elsewhere.

Common mistakes that reduce the chance of recovery

Avoid:

waiting several days because the scammer promised a refund;
sending another payment for “verification,” “insurance,” “tax,” “release,” or “refund processing”;
giving an OTP or allowing screen sharing to someone claiming to be from the bank;
deleting the conversation after becoming angry or embarrassed;
reporting the profile before preserving its URL, account details, and messages;
accepting an edited screenshot as proof that a refund was sent;
communicating only by voice call, with no written record;
exaggerating facts or calling an authorized payment unauthorized;
threatening, doxxing, or publicly posting the suspected scammer’s personal data;
attempting to hack, track, entrap, or impersonate the suspect;
paying a supposed “recovery agent” who guarantees the return of stolen funds; or
sending sensitive evidence to unofficial social-media accounts.

When legal or emergency help is urgent

Seek immediate assistance if:

unauthorized transfers are still occurring;
the scammer controls your phone, email, bank, or e-wallet account;
your identity documents or biometric information were taken;
the scammer is threatening violence, blackmail, or publication of intimate material;
a child is involved;
a large amount, business account, loan proceeds, or family savings were lost;
you have been asked to receive or forward money through your account;
law enforcement, a bank, or a platform asks you to sign a statement you do not understand;
several victims or coordinated accounts appear to be involved; or
a filing deadline, preservation request, or court process may be approaching.

For immediate danger, contact emergency services or the nearest police station. For significant losses or disputed liability, consider consulting a Philippine lawyer promptly. The Public Attorney’s Office may be an option for qualified applicants.

A concise report template

Use a factual format such as:

On [date and time], I saw the listing at [URL/platform]. The account represented that [exact material representation]. I agreed to purchase [item/service] for ₱[amount]. On [date and time], I sent payment through [institution and payment method] to [recipient details], transaction reference [reference]. The seller then [failed to deliver/blocked me/sent a false item/used my account without authority]. I contacted [platform/merchant/financial institution] on [dates], under reference numbers [numbers]. I am requesting [investigation, preservation or tracing of funds, refund, account action, or other remedy]. Attached are the listing, complete conversation, transaction record, account details, and complaint history.

Do not include conclusions you cannot support. If something is only suspected, label it as a suspicion and explain the facts supporting it.

FAQ

Can I report a scam even if the amount is small?

Yes. The amount may affect the available remedy, penalty, or practicality of litigation, but a small loss can still be part of a larger pattern. Preserve the evidence and report accurately.

What if I voluntarily sent the money?

You may still report the incident. Voluntary confirmation of a transfer does not necessarily mean there was no fraud if the payment was induced by deception. It can, however, affect the bank’s investigation and potential reimbursement, so explain precisely how the payment was obtained.

Should I wait seven days before calling the police or bank?

No. The seven-calendar-day rule concerns exhaustion of the internal redress mechanism for covered Internet Transactions Act complaints. It should not delay urgent account protection, a fraud report to the financial institution, or reporting suspected criminal conduct.

Can the bank reverse an InstaPay, PESONet, e-wallet, or card transaction?

Possibly, but not automatically. The result depends on the payment rail, transaction status, remaining funds, recipient institution, authorization evidence, applicable network rules, and the institutions’ investigation. Report immediately and ask what recall, dispute, chargeback, or temporary-hold process applies.

Is a screenshot enough?

It may help, but a complete evidence package is stronger. Keep full URLs, exported chats, original files, transaction references, account identifiers, emails, call logs, and platform complaint records. Preserve the original device when relevant.

Can DTI order a refund?

DTI may handle consumer complaints and exercise authority under applicable consumer laws, but jurisdiction and available relief depend on the transaction and respondent. A genuine private consumer-to-consumer sale falls outside the Internet Transactions Act, while criminal investigation belongs to law-enforcement authorities.

What if the seller used a fake name?

Report all identifiers you have, including the receiving financial account, mobile number, email address, profile URL, user ID, QR code, and transaction reference. Investigators may seek subscriber or account information through lawful process.

Should I post the person’s name and account number online?

Generally, avoid public accusations and disclosure of personal or financial information. A mistaken identification can harm an innocent person and expose you to legal risk. Give the information privately to the platform, financial institution, DTI, BSP, or law-enforcement authority.

Can I recover legal fees or other losses?

That depends on the applicable law, evidence, pleadings, and decision of the proper authority or court. Keep records of direct losses and reasonable expenses, but do not assume that every expense will be recoverable.

Official sources

This article provides general legal information, not legal advice or a prediction of any complaint’s outcome. Procedures and liability depend on the evidence, transaction, institution, and applicable rules. Official sources and procedures were checked as of September 19, 2026.