Valentine’s Day: Villanueva warns of online love scams
Sen. Joel Villanueva. | PHOTO: Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau
MANILA, Philippines — Love is just around the corner, and so are scammers. As the country celebrates Valentine’s Day on Thursday, Senator Joel Villanueva urged the public to remain vigilant against the rise of online love scams. He called on experts to use their skills for more positive and productive causes.
In a press release, Villanueva cited data from the Philippine National Police (PNP) Anti-Cybercrime Group, showing that eight online love scam cases were recorded as of January 2025.
Meanwhile, a total of 72 cases were logged last year.
“We are celebrating love today, yet some people continue to prey on others under the guise of romance. This is both shameful and disheartening,” Villanueva said, as quoted in the press release.
“Technology should be used to improve our lives, not make us suffer. Let’s put AI [artificial intelligence] to good use!” he added.
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Article continues after this advertisementVillanueva, one of the principal sponsors of the bill seeking to institutionalize the ban on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), also raised concern about the growing links between these scam operations and POGOs.
“This is exactly what we’ve been warning about from the beginning. He said that these operations are evolving but still originate from the same sources,” he said.
The senator then called on the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Division to double down on initiatives against love scammers and focus on educating the public on how to detect fraudulent activities.
Villanueva—chair of the committee on labor, employment, and human resources development—filed Senate Resolution No. 990 in 2024 to assess the Philippine labor market’s readiness to adapt to the growing presence of AI.
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According to the credit rating firm Moody’s, the Philippines is one of the top 10 sources of new online profiles associated with love scams.
Moody’s reported that in 2024, about 1,193 new profiles were used for romance scams worldwide—the highest in six years and 14 percent more than in 2023.
Of that figure, four percent, or 45 profiles, came from the Philippines, increasing from 10 in 2023.
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Meanwhile, in an advisory last Wednesday, Meta shared the following tips on how to avoid romance scams this Valentine’s Day.
- Beware of unsolicited messages
- Be cautious when receiving messages from unfamiliar accounts
- Be skeptical whenever anyone requests personal information or money
