Visa has expanded its scam disruption measures in the Philippines as fraud activity shifts away from SMS-based scams toward phishing, online card fraud, and account takeovers targeting digital payments.
The move follows Visa’s recent Risk Forum, where the company engaged media and industry stakeholders on emerging fraud trends and the growing risks facing the country’s digital payments ecosystem. As Filipinos increasingly rely on online and real-time payments, Visa said scammers are adapting with more complex and coordinated attacks.
Fraud Shifts Toward Online and Real-Time Payments
Visa noted that fraud tactics in the Philippines are evolving beyond traditional text-based scams. Criminals are now focusing on phishing schemes, card-not-present (CNP) fraud, and account takeovers that target online credentials and e-commerce transactions.
According to Visa’s Biannual Threats Report, ransomware incidents affecting the payments ecosystem increased by 41% globally in the first half of 2025, highlighting a more volatile threat environment. Asia Pacific accounted for 67% of global scam losses in 2023, while the Philippines recorded a 13.4% suspected digital fraud rate, exceeding the global average.
Visa Scam Disruption Targets Fraud Before Funds Move
Globally, Visa said it has disrupted more than US$1 billion in attempted scams through its Visa Scam Disruption (VSD) practice. The initiative works with financial institutions and law enforcement agencies to identify and shut down scam operations, including the removal of more than 25,000 scam-linked merchants worldwide.
VSD operates under Visa’s Payment Ecosystem Risk and Control group and combines intelligence gathering, investigations, advanced detection models, and cross-industry partnerships. The program forms part of Visa’s US$13 billion investment over the past five years to strengthen network security and fraud prevention.
Strengthening Protection Across the Payments Ecosystem
Visa said its strategy in the Philippines focuses on stopping scams earlier by working closely with issuing banks, acquirers, fintechs, and regulators. The company is expanding the use of tokenization, biometric authentication, device-bound passkeys, and AI-powered anomaly detection to protect consumers as digital transactions increase.
“Protecting Filipinos from fraud means going beyond detection,” said Jeffrey Navarro, Visa Country Manager for the Philippines. “We are strengthening scam disruption across the ecosystem so we can stop scams earlier and protect consumers before money moves. As scams increasingly target online payments, Visa’s role is to help raise the security bar for the entire industry so Filipinos can pay and be paid with confidence.”
Regulatory Support Strengthens Anti-Scam Efforts
Visa’s expanded measures align with recent regulatory developments in the Philippines. In 2024, Republic Act No. 12010, also known as the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA), was signed into law to strengthen the country’s response to fraud and scams.
The law requires banks to implement real-time fraud detection systems and gradually phase out one-time passwords for high-risk transactions. It also allows institutions such as Visa to share threat intelligence directly with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, supporting faster reporting and coordinated industry-wide responses to emerging fraud threats.
