Cybercrime victimization among Filipino families reached a record 8% in June 2026 even as conventional crimes declined, prompting a Manila lawmaker to call for simpler reporting procedures and stronger consumer protection.
The latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed that families reporting cybercrime victimization rose by 2.2 percentage points from 5.8% in March. The category covers online scams, account hacking, and cyberbullying experienced by respondents or members of their households during the previous six months.
By comparison, the proportion of families victimized by conventional crimes — including street robbery, break-ins, carnapping, and physical violence — fell to 10% from 12.3% over the same period.
Manila second district rep. Rolando Valeriano said the disparity between survey findings and official police figures suggests that many cybercrime incidents are not being reported to authorities.
“There seems to be a wide gap between reported and unreported cybercrimes judging by the gap between police crime statistics and the SWS survey on cybercrimes,” said Valeriano, chair of the House Committee on Public Order and Safety.
“Law enforcement agencies and cyber platforms need to coordinate closely and speak frankly with each other. We need to make it easier for victims to report cybercrimes,” he added.
Cybercrime victimization increased in three of the four major geographic areas covered by the survey.
Metro Manila recorded the highest rate at 13.4%, up from 10.1% in March. The Visayas posted the sharpest increase, with the figure more than doubling to 10.4% from 4.1%.
The rate in Mindanao climbed to 8.8% from 5.3%, while Balance Luzon was the only area to register a decline, easing to 5.1% from 5.5%.
SWS began tracking cybercrime victimization in June 2023, marking the first category added to its crime survey in three decades.
The rise in cybercrime contrasted with declines across several conventional crime categories. Families reporting property crimes fell to 9.1% from 11.5%, while street robbery declined to 7.3% from 8.9%.
Break-ins dropped to 3.5% from 4.6%, while physical violence decreased to 1.4% from 1.7%. Among families owning a motor vehicle, reported carnapping fell to 0.3% from 1.1%.
Despite the nationwide decline in conventional crimes, street robbery increased in Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao. It rose to 10.7% from 9.6% in Metro Manila, to 7.1% from 5.1% in the Visayas, and to 9.1% from 6.2% in Mindanao. It fell sharply in Balance Luzon to 5.5% from 11.7%.
SWS noted that victimization reported in its surveys has historically been much higher than the number of crimes reported to the police.
Valeriano said cybercrime victims should not be placed at a disadvantage when seeking assistance from authorities or financial institutions.
“Victims should not be put at a disadvantage when they come forward to report. We have to remember that they were targeted by people who are experts at theft and deception, often using advanced technology,” he said.
“The odds are against the victim from the start. The mere fact that the victim gave his or her one time passcode (OTP) or had a weak password should not be the end of efforts to recover their cash, identity, and accounts,” he added.
Valeriano urged the Department of Information and Communications Technology, Department of Justice, and Philippine National Police to work with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on stronger security measures and consumer protections.
“Regulations and law enforcement must catch up, keep pace, or do better than the cybercriminals,” he said.
