The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) will adopt the Scam Watch Pilipinas Anti-Scam Quad Model as the country’s national anti-scam education and awareness strategy, providing a unified framework for scam prevention at no cost to the government.
DICT Secretary Henry Aguda said the agency saw no need to build a new program from scratch when a working framework-anchored on public education and private sector collaboration-already exists.
‘Why reinvent the wheel? Let’s adopt it. If the program works, why shouldn’t we use it? It comes at no cost to the government, it benefits the public, and it is built on public-private partnership,’ Aguda said.
The adoption shifts the government’s anti-scam education approach from reactive alerts about emerging scams toward building long-term protective behavior among Filipinos, while positioning the Philippines as a regional leader in anti-scam awareness.
‘With the Anti-Scam Quad Model as our national education and awareness strategy, we can put the Philippines at the forefront of anti-scam education and awareness in Southeast Asia. We want Filipinos to be not only informed about scams but equipped with the right behavior and tools to prevent them,’ Aguda said.
The Quad Model rests on four components: behavioral change through the ‘Kontra-Scam Attitude,’ a volunteer watcher program, cross-sector collaboration, and technology-enabled reporting.
At its core is the Kontra-Scam Attitude, which promotes four behaviors when dealing with suspicious messages, calls, and online offers: Magdamot, Magduda, Mang-isnab, and Magsumbong sa 1326-the government’s dedicated scam-reporting hotline.
The second component mobilizes and trains volunteer anti-scam advocates to bring awareness directly to communities, schools, workplaces, and vulnerable sectors.
The third pushes for tighter coordination among government agencies, law enforcement, financial institutions, telecommunications companies, technology platforms, and civil society groups.
The fourth promotes digital reporting channels to make it easier for the public to flag suspicious activities and scam incidents.
Scam Watch Pilipinas co-founder Jocel de Guzman said the DICT’s commitment could move anti-scam education beyond simply warning the public whenever a new scheme surfaces.
‘Scam prevention should not stop at telling people what the latest scam is. We need to build the right behavior so Filipinos instinctively know what to do when confronted by suspicious messages, calls or offers,’ De Guzman said.
He said a common national framework would allow government agencies, communities, and private organizations to sustain prevention efforts rather than mount piecemeal campaigns.