Manila: The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is adopting a volunteer-driven, community-based framework as the country's official strategy for educating the public against scams.
According to Philippines News Agency, DICT Secretary Henry Aguda announced that the Scam Watch Pilipinas Anti-Scam Quad Model will serve as the national anti-scam education and awareness strategy, giving government agencies and communities a unified approach to prevent scams. The framework, developed through public-private collaboration, incurs no cost to the government. Aguda emphasized the practicality of adopting an existing successful program, stating, "Why reinvent the wheel? Let's adopt it. If the program works, why shouldn't we use it?"
The Quad Model is based on four main components. The first encourages behavioral change through the "Kontra-Scam Attitude," training Filipinos to adopt four habits when encountering suspicious messages, calls, or online offers: "Magdamot" (being stingy with personal information), "Magduda" (doubting unsolicited offers), "Mang-isnab" (ignoring suspicious messages), and "Magsumbong sa 1326" (reporting scams to the government hotline).
The second component involves mobilizing volunteer anti-scam advocates to conduct awareness drives in communities, schools, workplaces, and vulnerable sectors. The third component focuses on coordination among government agencies, law enforcement, financial institutions, telecommunications companies, technology platforms, and civil society groups. The fourth promotes technology-enabled reporting through digital channels and government mechanisms, making it easier for the public to report suspicious activities.
The framework received international recognition in 2025 when Scam Watch Pilipinas placed second in the Best Anti-Scam Campaign category at the Global Anti-Scam Alliance's Scam Fighter Awards. Scam Watch Pilipinas co-founder Jocel de Guzman praised the DICT's adoption of the model, noting it shifts scam prevention from merely warning the public about new scams to establishing instinctive preventive behaviors. He expressed gratitude to Aguda for understanding that combating scams requires more than just technology and enforcement, highlighting the need for a unified framework to address the growing scale and sophistication of online fraud.
