Scam victims may be entitled to reimbursement if banks or other financial institutions fail to meet their obligations under the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA), according to Scam Watch Pilipinas, which urged the financial sector to strengthen its readiness as the law takes effect.
The consumer advocacy group welcomed the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) guidance on the reimbursement framework, saying it strikes a balance between protecting consumers and ensuring that claims are evaluated based on the facts of each case.
Scam Watch Pilipinas co-founder Jocel de Guzman said financial institutions should immediately review their systems and internal processes to comply with AFASA and its implementing rules.
“We call on all banks and other BSP-supervised financial institutions to immediately review and strengthen their processes, systems, and organizational readiness to fully implement AFASA,” de Guzman said.
He said banks should adopt a whole-of-organization approach that brings together leadership, fraud management, cybersecurity, technology, legal and compliance, operations, customer service, communications, risk management, and frontline personnel.
Such coordination, he said, is essential to quickly detect scams, investigate incidents, assist affected customers, preserve evidence, and comply with regulatory requirements.
De Guzman also urged banks to establish dedicated scam-reporting hotlines separate from general customer service channels.
“Victims of fraud should not have to compete with routine customer inquiries when every minute can make the difference in freezing suspicious transactions, preserving evidence, and minimizing financial losses,” he said.
Scam Watch Pilipinas noted that most online financial scams exploit human behavior rather than weaknesses in banking systems. Victims are often tricked into revealing one-time passwords, verification codes, PINs, or passwords, or are persuaded to authorize fraudulent transactions through fake websites, phishing links, and impersonation schemes.
The group stressed that while stronger regulations improve consumer protection, no legal framework can completely eliminate scams driven by deception and social engineering.
It said combating online fraud requires a coordinated effort among regulators, financial institutions, law enforcement agencies, technology companies, civil society groups, and consumers themselves.
Scam Watch Pilipinas also renewed its “Kontra-Scam Attitude” campaign, urging the public to keep personal banking credentials private, question unsolicited messages, ignore suspicious offers, and immediately report scams to the National Anti-Scam Hotline 1326 and their financial institution.
