Kaspersky warns Filipinos of rising holiday scams

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December 25, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — As Filipinos ramp up online shopping, digital payments and money transfers during the holiday season, cybersecurity firm Kaspersky warned that cybercriminals are also intensifying their activities, taking advantage of increased year-end transactions and time-pressured consumers.

Kaspersky said the surge in holiday spending creates a high-risk environment for online scams, with attackers deploying increasingly sophisticated tactics to steal personal data, financial information and account credentials.

Adrian Hia, managing director for Asia-Pacific at Kaspersky, said the holiday season is a peak period for online activity in the Philippines, making users more vulnerable to cyber threats.

“During the holiday season, attackers capitalize on time-pressured shopping and transactions to exploit lapses in user vigilance. This makes awareness and consistent security practices especially important,” he said.

Kaspersky’s latest threat intelligence showed that seasonal shopping periods continue to be widely exploited by cybercriminals worldwide.

From January to October, the company said it blocked more than 6.4 million phishing attempts globally that impersonated online stores, banks and payment systems, with nearly half of these attacks targeting online shoppers.

The cybersecurity firm said these global trends are particularly relevant to the Philippines, where online shopping, digital payments and gaming activity typically surge during the holiday season.

Based on Kaspersky’s global threat intelligence and regional observations, the most common holiday-related scams affecting users in the Philippines include phishing emails and text messages impersonating delivery services, banks or e-wallet providers that urge users to click malicious links or provide sensitive information.

Other schemes involve fake online stores and promotional pages offering unrealistically low prices, often promoted through social media ads or messaging apps as well as fraudulent payment requests sent through messaging apps posing as sellers, customer support agents or even known contacts.

Kaspersky also flagged account takeover attempts, where compromised credentials are used to gain access to online shopping, banking, or social media accounts.

To help individuals stay protected, Kaspersky advised users to shop only on trusted platforms and be cautious of deals that seem too good to be true.

It also urged users not to click links or download attachments from unsolicited emails, texts or messages and to verify payment requests and delivery notices through official apps or websites.

The company further recommended using strong, unique passwords, enabling multi-factor authentication, considering the use of a password manager and installing security solutions that provide real-time protection against phishing and online fraud.

For businesses, Kaspersky emphasized the need to train employees to recognize phishing and social engineering attacks, especially during peak holiday activity.

Companies were also encouraged to monitor email and account activity closely for suspicious behavior, implement advanced endpoint protection and threat detection, regularly update and patch systems and strengthen incident detection and response capabilities through centralized monitoring and visibility.