Quick answer
If you suspect an online shopping or social media scam in the Philippines, contact your bank or e-wallet immediately, preserve the evidence, and report the incident through the appropriate government channel.
For suspected criminal fraud, contact the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group or NBI Cybercrime Division. You can also call 1326, the government’s 24/7 inter-agency scam-reporting hotline, for assistance and referral. DICT also identifies the eGovPH app as a reporting option. Official DICT guidance
For a refund or other consumer remedy against an online merchant, use the seller’s or platform’s complaint process and, when appropriate, escalate to DTI. If your complaint concerns how a bank or e-wallet handled the incident, complain to that institution first, then escalate an unresolved concern to BSP.
Reporting does not automatically reverse a payment, freeze an account, or guarantee prosecution or recovery. Each process serves a different purpose.
1. Stop further losses and secure your accounts
Do not send additional money for supposed delivery clearance, account verification, refund processing, or recovery assistance.
Contact your payment provider through its official app, website, or the number printed on your card. Explain accurately whether:
- You made the payment because of a false sales offer.
- Someone accessed your account and transferred money without your permission.
- You disclosed an OTP, password, card information, or other account credentials.
- You accidentally sent money to the wrong account.
These situations require different assessments. Do not describe a payment you personally made as an account takeover merely because the seller later disappeared.
Ask the provider to record a fraud complaint, assess available protective measures, and give you a reference number and documentary requirements. For card payments, ask about the applicable dispute or chargeback procedure and deadline.
If account access may be compromised, change affected passwords using a trusted device, revoke unfamiliar sessions, and secure the email account connected to your financial accounts. Contact your mobile provider if you suspect someone has taken control of your SIM.
Can the bank or e-wallet hold the money?
Under BSP Circular No. 1215, qualifying disputed electronic transfers may be subject to an initial hold of up to five calendar days, with a justified extension of up to 25 more calendar days. A longer hold requires a competent court’s extension.
Supporting documents must generally be submitted within the initial holding period, subject to exceptions in the industry protocol. Ask the institution for your exact submission deadline.
This mechanism excludes erroneous transfers and generally excludes credit-card transactions, except specified transfers through an automated clearing house. A hold preserves funds while the transaction is assessed; it is not an automatic refund. BSP’s AFASA regulations
2. Preserve evidence before the account or listing disappears
Create a folder containing the original files and a separate backup. Useful evidence includes:
| Evidence | What to preserve |
|---|---|
| Seller or account identity | Profile and page links, usernames, account IDs if visible, phone numbers, email addresses, and claimed business details |
| Offer or advertisement | Listing URL, product description, price, photographs, promised condition, delivery date, and refund terms |
| Conversations | Complete chats, attachments, timestamps, payment instructions, acknowledgments, excuses, and threats |
| Payment | Transaction reference number, date and time, amount, recipient account details, QR code, receipts, and relevant account statements |
| Delivery | Tracking history, waybill, packaging, photographs of what arrived, and any existing unboxing video |
| Complaint history | Refund requests, platform tickets, bank reference numbers, acknowledgments, and responses |
Keep screenshots uncropped where possible so they show context. Preserve chat exports and original emails when available. Do not edit original evidence; make separate annotated copies if you need to explain particular entries.
Write a short timeline while events are fresh: what was offered, what you relied on, when you paid, what happened afterward, and when you discovered the suspected fraud.
An unboxing video can help, but do not abandon a complaint simply because you have none. Gather the other records available to you.
Share full account details and identity documents through verified official channels. Avoid posting your evidence folder publicly, especially if it contains IDs, addresses, signatures, or financial information.
3. Report through the channel that matches the problem
You may need more than one route—for example, an urgent payment dispute and a criminal investigation.
| Problem or objective | Appropriate starting point |
|---|---|
| Money was transferred or account access is compromised | Your bank, e-wallet, card issuer, or payment provider |
| Suspected fake seller, impersonation, phishing, or deliberate deception | PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group or NBI Cybercrime Division |
| Help identifying the appropriate cybercrime reporting office | Hotline 1326 |
| Removal of a fraudulent listing or account; an order refund | The marketplace or social media platform |
| Consumer dispute against an online merchant | DTI, after applicable internal redress requirements |
| Unresolved complaint about a BSP-supervised institution’s handling | BSP Consumer Assistance Mechanism |
| Alleged unlawful processing or disclosure of personal information | National Privacy Commission, where its jurisdiction and complaint requirements apply |
Reporting suspected criminal fraud
For an online scam, approach the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group or NBI Cybercrime Division. If you do not know the appropriate local unit, use 1326 for referral.
The NBI’s published procedure includes an initial interview, a sworn complaint sheet, sworn statements or prepared affidavits, and collection of supporting documents. Relevant devices may also be examined. Its charter also provides for regional cybercrime handling. NBI investigative-assistance procedure
For your visit, prepare identification, your timeline, and readable printed and digital copies of the evidence. Ask the receiving office about the required affidavit format and copies.
In your account of events, explain:
- What the person represented before you paid.
- Why you believed and relied on that representation.
- How and where you communicated.
- When, how, and to whom you paid.
- What makes you suspect deliberate deception.
- What loss you suffered and what recovery, if any, has already occurred.
Distinguish the seller’s claimed identity from facts you independently verified. A name on an account, ID photograph, or delivery label is an investigative lead; it does not by itself establish who committed the fraud.
Ask for an acknowledgment or reference number and the next required step. A hotline report, platform ticket, or police blotter entry is not itself a criminal case filed in court. Follow through with the investigator’s requirements.
Reporting the seller or account to the platform
Use the platform’s own reporting tools for the listing, advertisement, profile, message, and transaction, as applicable. If you purchased through an order system, open the refund or dispute request within that order.
Save the ticket number and submission date. Identify both the transaction and the specific deception. A general report that an account “looks suspicious” may not communicate that you are also seeking a refund.
Keep records before blocking the account. Do not click a “refund link” sent by the suspected scammer or provide an OTP to someone offering to process your complaint.
4. Use DTI for a covered online consumer dispute
DTI’s published filing guidance identifies the Consumer CARe portal. For Metro Manila complainants, it also permits submission of a completed complaint form or complaint letter to consumercare@dti.gov.ph, or filing in person with the Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau. DTI filing instructions
State the seller’s available details, the transaction, the problem, and the remedy requested. Attach payment proof, relevant messages, the listing, and your previous complaint and response. If a seller’s address or legal name is unknown, say so.
Complain internally first where the law requires it
For transactions covered by the Internet Transactions Act, Section 24 requires use of the digital platform’s, marketplace’s, or e-retailer’s internal redress mechanism before filing a complaint with a court or appropriate agency. It is deemed exhausted if the complaint remains unresolved after seven calendar days from filing.
Keep proof of submission. This consumer-redress step should not delay urgent account-security measures or alerting authorities to suspected criminal activity. Tell the receiving agency if no usable complaint mechanism exists. Republic Act No. 11967, Section 24
Not every social media sale has the same legal coverage
The Act covers specified business-to-consumer and business-to-business internet transactions connected to the Philippine market. It excludes consumer-to-consumer transactions outside the ordinary course of business, such as a genuinely private sale of a personal item.
Using a personal social media profile does not, by itself, settle whether someone is operating a business. Criminal and civil remedies may still be relevant even where the Act does not apply. Republic Act No. 11967, Sections 3–4
DTI consumer proceedings and criminal investigations serve different purposes. Do not assume that asking DTI for a refund automatically starts an estafa prosecution.
5. Escalate unresolved financial complaints to BSP
First raise the issue with the bank or e-wallet’s own complaint-handling unit. If the concern remains unresolved, use the BSP Online Buddy, or BOB, through BSP’s official consumer-assistance page.
Provide the institution’s name, your complaint reference, the relevant transactions, your requested resolution, and the institution’s response or evidence of your attempts to obtain one. BSP Consumer Assistance Channels
Be specific about the institution’s conduct: for example, failure to acknowledge a fraud report, an unexplained rejection, or inadequate handling of a disputed transfer. This escalation concerns financial-consumer assistance; it does not replace the criminal complaint against the suspected scammer.
The Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act can make an institution liable for loss arising from its failure to hold disputed funds when legally required. That liability depends on the statutory and regulatory conditions and the facts—it is not a blanket promise that every scam payment will be reimbursed. Republic Act No. 12010, Section 9
When is a failed transaction criminal fraud?
A delayed delivery, defective item, or unpaid refund does not automatically establish estafa.
For estafa through false pretenses under Article 315(2)(a) of the Revised Penal Code, the prosecution must establish the relevant deception, its timing before or alongside the fraud, the victim’s reliance in parting with money or property, and resulting damage. The Supreme Court reiterated these requirements in Paguirigan v. People, G.R. No. 255308. Supreme Court decision
Where an offense 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; they are not interchangeable labels for every online dispute. Republic Act No. 10175, Sections 4 and 6
You do not need to choose the final criminal charge before reporting. Give investigators the facts and supporting records.
Deadlines: act promptly and track each process separately
There is no single deadline covering every platform claim, financial dispute, consumer action, and criminal complaint.
- Platform and payment disputes: Check the applicable deadline immediately. Do not let repeated promises from the seller cause you to miss it.
- Temporary fund holds: Submit the documents requested by your institution within the applicable holding-period requirements.
- Consumer Act claims: Article 169 generally provides two years from consummation of the consumer transaction or commission of the deceptive, unfair, or unconscionable practice; for hidden defects, the period runs from discovery. Republic Act No. 7394, Article 169
- Internet Transactions Act damages claims: Section 28 provides two years from accrual of the cause of action. Republic Act No. 11967, Section 28
Criminal prescription and other civil deadlines require assessment of the particular offense or claim. Do not assume that an informal report or ongoing negotiation stops every legal deadline.
Common mistakes that can weaken your complaint
Avoid deleting conversations, submitting only isolated screenshots, or relying on links that may disappear. Preserve the records themselves.
Do not exaggerate the amount lost, invent an account takeover, or identify someone as the perpetrator solely because their name appears on a receipt. State what you know and what remains uncertain.
Do not pay a stranger who promises guaranteed recovery, special access to investigators, or immediate account freezing. Never provide passwords or OTPs to a supposed recovery agent.
If you receive a refund or settlement proposal, verify that funds have actually arrived. Read any release or waiver before signing, and update agencies about payments received.
Keep a log of all reports and disclose related proceedings when asked. Multiple reports do not justify inconsistent accounts or duplicate recovery.
When help is urgent
Seek immediate assistance if transfers are continuing, someone controls your email or SIM, threats or extortion are involved, or the suspected scammer is using your identity to approach other people.
Tell investigators promptly if a child is involved or someone is threatening to publish intimate material. Preserve the threatening messages and avoid negotiating alone.
Where personal information has been unlawfully processed or disclosed, a separate privacy complaint may be appropriate. Follow the NPC’s prescribed formal process, including its complaint form and notarization requirements. NPC complaint guidance
Get legal advice promptly if a filing deadline may be close, a substantial loss is involved, you are asked to sign a settlement, or you need to coordinate criminal proceedings with a civil claim for repayment.
Frequently asked questions
Can I report a small loss?
Yes. You do not need to wait for losses to grow before requesting investigation. The NBI’s published cybercrime-assistance procedure is available to the general public. Whether prosecution can proceed depends on the evidence and applicable law.
Can I report if I do not know the scammer’s real name?
Yes. Provide the profile links, phone numbers, transaction references, recipient details, and messages you have. Clearly identify any name as a claimed or displayed identity unless verified. Identifying the actual offender may require further investigation.
What if I willingly transferred the money?
Report the circumstances honestly. Personally authorizing a transfer does not answer whether the seller deceived you. It can, however, affect the payment provider’s assessment and available recovery options.
Will reporting to Facebook or another platform be enough?
A platform report can support account or listing action and an internal dispute. It does not automatically notify your bank or initiate a Philippine criminal investigation. Use the additional routes relevant to your loss.
Can I recover money even if criminal fraud is not proven?
Possibly. Civil liability can exist even when criminal liability is not established, depending on the facts and legal basis. Ask a lawyer which recovery action fits your documents and how it interacts with any pending criminal case. Paguirigan v. People
Do I need a lawyer just to make an initial report?
You can approach the reporting agencies yourself. The NBI’s procedure includes assistance with complaint intake and sworn statements. Legal help becomes particularly useful for disputed facts, formal proceedings, deadlines, and settlement terms.
This article provides general Philippine legal information, not advice for a particular case. Available remedies depend on the facts, evidence, and applicable procedures. Sources checked on 19 September 2026.