The rise and proliferation of digital payments have undeniably made financial transactions easier for many people. But alongside this benefit also comes the risk of falling into a scheme aimed at duping unwitting users off of their hard-earned money.
In a study by Kaspersky entitled “Mapping a secure path for the future of digital payments in APAC,” it established that 72 percent of Southeast Asians have encountered cyber threats. Further data suggests that almost all (or 97 percent) of the participants are aware of a scam related to e-payment platforms.
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The Philippines, which holds the fourth position among countries most targeted by cyber threats, finds social engineering scams, like calls of text, as the dominant means that affected even 42 percent of the subjects.
Financial losses borne from the illicit schemes cost the victims somewhere between $100 and $5,000, with a small percentage paying more than $5,000, the study also claims.