Tanauan City Academy, Inc.

B. Laurena St., Brgy. IV, Tanauan City, Batangas

ONLINE SCAMMING: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE

PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS ON SCAMMING VICTIMS

By:

ABEJO, CRISTIAN M.

BALAHADIA, ALLYZA MARIEL R.

BALLON, FABRIZIO ROSSI P.

MALIZON, DOMINIC KAI A.

MONTABLAN, JASMEN R.

PATRON, KYLE JUZTINE M.

Ms. Judith C. Molina

Practical Research 1 Adviser

 Chapter I

The Problem

This chapter includes the introduction, conceptual framework, statement of the problem,
scope and limitation, significance of the study and the definition of terms.

Background of the Study

An online scam is any attempt to mislead people using internet technology. Internet
scams are carried out by cybercriminals for personal gain, whether financial or otherwise. To
gain access to their victims' data, files, and personal information, scammers use deceptive
methods such as phishing emails, fake websites, and malicious software. They may steal their
victims' credit card information and Social Security numbers, gain access to their bank accounts
and medical records, or even trick them into giving them their money willingly. Telephone
scams, tech-support scams, online shopping scams, business scams, technical support scams, and
many other types of online scams may be encountered.

Scammers prey on their victims' gullibility, in technical-support scams, it frequently begins

with an advertisement on a website which usually appears as a pop-up warning to the user that
their device is infected. Sometimes the advertisement will play a very loud alarm sound and
restrict the user's ability to close the browser which may cause panic to the victim, the victims
will then have to call the scammers' "help-line" displayed inside the advertisement in a desperate
attempt to save their “infected” device. Once dialed, scammers would then ask the victims to
install an application which will be used against the victim, it would grant the scammers remote
control access to the victims' devices so that the scammers could "get rid of the problem," after
which the scammers would tell them the price of their service, which could sometimes exceed
hundreds of dollars. Scammers typically request payment in the form of gift cards because using
gift cards as payment allows the scammers to extract money and removing the ability to refund
the money to the victim while remaining anonymous. Other times, scammers will exploit
romantic and online dating-related techniques. These con artists take advantage of the fact that
some people use online dating to find a significant other. Using well-known social media apps,
scammers would create a fake account impersonating another person or fabricating a fake
personality, then contact the victims to initiate a fictitious relationship and connection. After
some time, the scammers would ask the victim for money, and after they obtained it, they would
take it and disappear.

Due to the growth in internet usage and accessibility to everyone, incidents of tech support
scamming have increased over the years, resulting in millions of dollars taken away from poor
victims. According to the study of Statista Research Department (2022) about the distribution of
internet users worldwide by age group as of 2021, “a third of online users worldwide were aged
between 25 and 34 years. Website visitors in this age bracket constituted the biggest group of
online users worldwide. Also, 18% of global online users were aged 18 to 24 years. The global
digital population aged 65 or older represented approximately 5.5% of all internet users
worldwide.” Even though the global internet users that are aged 65 or older represented 5.5% of
all internet users, they are the most common victim of these scams and they are usually target
because of the fact that they take longer to discover that they are victims of internet fraud, giving
scammers more time to steal from them. Having one of the highest percent out of all the age
groups, teenagers are also a common target for these scams, but because teenagers have fewer
financial assets than other age groups, they lose less than other age groups, but this does not
imply that they are targeted the least.

Introduction

Nowadays, almost every type of person uses the internet, including organizations,
companies, business owners, citizens, students, and others. These people use the internet in a
variety of ways to help them in completing multiple tasks and works. Scamming on the internet
is a major issue these days, and the consequences of scamming can be harmful to people's mental
and emotional health. However, because almost everyone has access to the internet, scammers
and con artists have the ability to prey on unsuspecting internet users. According to Internet
World Stats, in 2005, the internet was accessible to only 16% of the world's population, but in
2022, it dramatically increased to 67.8% worldwide and this will only continue to grow, the
internet enables instant information access, international communication and many more things
but unfortunately, there are threats on the internet as well. Given that the internet has been
around for so long and is gradually becoming more accessible to people in different age groups,
it is only natural for fraud and deception to accompany its growth. As the internet continues to
grow and improve, scamming methods become more difficult to spot, resulting in more people
being affected by online scams. Due to the internet’s mass growth over the years, the researchers
observed a large amount of scamming on the internet in the form of phishing, catfishing, tech-
support scams and a variety of other methods used by scammers or con artists that appear to be
coming from legitimate sources, these methods are intended to deceive people into disclosing
private information and possibly stealing valuables from them, which can have a very negative
impact on an individual. The researchers want to dig deeper about “online scamming” and want
to focus on the effects of online scams to victims who experienced it, how their lives have
changed, how they've used these experiences to be more vigilant when doing things online, and
get their perspective on the topic. The goal for our research is to be able to pinpoint which age
demographic is targeted the most in order to provide protection to them to avoid them from being
 deceived. The researchers want to be able to gain and give new or additional knowledge before
people access the internet in order to avoid the same dangers and risks that they would face.

Conceptual Framework

This part of the chapter one represents the Conceptual Framework of this research. This
chapter includes the significant concepts from the literature review that is used for the study.

1: This figure shows the Conceptual Framework of the study

INPUT
PROCESS OUTPUT
 Age
 Gender  Understand how
 Numbers of hours  Data gathering con artists trick
spent in the internet through interview people and using
 Type of fraud your knowledge to
committed to protect those you
victim love.

1.4 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This study examines the lived experiences of the victims of online scamming. This study
specifically seeks the answer to the following questions:

1. What is the profile of the participants in terms of;

1.1 age
1.2 gender
1.3 number of hours spent in the internet
2. How can the participants describe their experience with the scammer?
3. How do the participants describe the aftermath of their scamming experience?
4. How have participants become more cautious when using the internet?

Significance of the Study

This study discusses what online scamming is along with the experiences of victims, as well
as providing readers with additional information on the subject. This research study may also be
beneficial to the readers and these specific groups of people differently:
  Teenagers/Students – This study will benefit this group because it will provide them
with valuable information on how to avoid the risks and threats associated with using the
internet.
 Teachers – This research study can benefit teachers by providing them with information
and resources about tech-support scams and its negative effects to people allowing them
to teach and assist their students on the subject. It may also benefit teachers who are
unaware of the dangers and threats tied with the internet.
 Adults/Parents – They may also benefit from this study because it can provide them
with knowledge need to guard against being tricked and misled, as well as to protect their
children and friends.
 Elders- Elders are the most commonly misled and deceived demographic by tech-support
scams; this research study will help them to be more secure and aware of how scammers
can deceive them.
 Future researchers – Future researchers can benefit from the findings of this study
because they can help them acquire and gather information for their own study related to
this topic and broaden it.
 The researchers – This study may also be significant for the researchers because, in
addition to researching and finding answers for the topic, they may gain new and
valuable information that they can use for themselves.

Definition of Terms

In the light of giving direction to the present study, unfamiliar terms were encountered.
As part of the research, the researchers defined these terms according to their conceptual use and
contextual application in the research.

 Technology:
Technology refers to the any tangible item used by a human to complete a task. This
includes tools that use electricity, such as computers and electronic instruments.
Computers can access cyber tools, but they can also be used to write documents or view
photographs.
 Online Scam / Fraud
Online Scam / Fraud is a type of internet crime that involves financial deception and
theft.
 Deceptive Tactics
This refers to the various techniques con artists and fraudsters employ to trick their
victims, including phishing, false marketing, bogus dating accounts, etc.
 Phishing
 Scammers and con-artists use phishing to deceive and trick people into revealing
confidential information, allowing the scammers and con-artists to steal from victims via
fake messages or advertisements that appear to come from "legitimate" sources.
 Scammers / Con-Artists
Scammers, also known as con-artists, are the people who are responsible for online
scamming, fraud, and deception.

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

Related Literature

In this section the researcher presents the different views, information, and facts derived
from the different sources like books, newspapers, magazine, interviews, journals and speeches
about online scamming and the effects of it to the victims that have been affected by it. The
concepts are as follows:

Foreign Related Literature

According to Sheldon Reid (2023) financial fraud doesn't just impact your bank account.
The mental and emotional effects that you might also experience can include: Anxiety. Once
you’ve been scammed, you may feel the need to be hypervigilant. The world around you can
suddenly seem less safe. Shame. You might feel embarrassed that you were scammed. Maybe
you are hesitant to share the details of the event with loved ones because you fear they will
question your wisdom or try to restrict your financial independence. Grief. You might grieve the
loss of your financial security, your sense of independence, or your trust in people. If you were
tricked by a trusted friend or through a romance scam, you might grieve the loss of that specific
relationship.

According to Alexis Bahensky (2022) our generation has more access than ever to the
web. An increase in internet usage means more minds on the web waiting to be tricked by online
scammers. This wouldn’t be a problem if students were prepared to handle these types of
situations; however, it seems that generations before us have failed to properly teach these
valuable lessons. This isn’t only happening to students, even older generations are also affected.
This shows how the generations before them have also failed in educating them properly to
protect themselves against scammers and their scams. An article from the Omaha World-Herald
stated that a little over a week ago, a 74-year-old man was scammed out of over 27,000 because
of a pop-up ad. This specific ad said the computer had a virus, and when he tried to call the
number the man who picked it up was in fact the scammer posing as a Microsoft engineer. More
Omahans were described to be scammed out of thousands due to scammers. This wouldn’t have
happened if students were educated on the subject from a young age.

According to Marcin Kleczynski (2017) in recent studies, it showed millennials fell for
tech support scams more often than older generations. More than a third of scam targets between
the ages of 18 and 24, and 43% of those ages 25 to 34, fell victim to scammers. Tech support
scammers originally used cold calls, but they have evolved their approach greatly in recent years.
Their use of digital tactics started in  2013 when tech support criminals began launching pop-up
ads telling computer users their machines had been hacked, prompting them to call a phone
number to obtain tech support.

According to Jingjin Shao, Weiping Du, Tian Lin, Xiying Li, Jiamei Li & Huijie Lei
(2019) the present study aimed to clarify whether it is credulity or general trust that specifically
affects vulnerability to fraud, as well as investigating the mediating role of susceptibility to
persuasion and the moderating role of greed in this relationship. 254 Chinese older adults
completed measures of credulity, general trust, susceptibility to persuasion, greed, and
vulnerability to fraud. The results showed that credulity, but not general trust, was positively
correlated with vulnerability to fraud, after controlling for demographic covariates. Susceptibility
to persuasion partially mediated the effect of credulity on vulnerability to fraud. In addition, this
mediating effect of susceptibility to persuasion was only significant in older adults with higher
levels of greed. Our findings suggest that credulity, rather than general trust, is a risk factor in
vulnerability to fraud among older adults, and may inform the development of supportive
interventions to reduce this population’s risk of falling victim to fraud.

According to Rikosuhripäivystys. Rikosuhripäivystys (2023) if you have been scammed

online, remember that you are not alone and that you can always get help. Almost everyone who
uses the internet has come across an online scam at some point. Most online scams are never
reported to the police, and in most cases the victim does not seek help. A scam can even happen
without the victim noticing it at the time or even being aware that it is in fact a crime. Online
shopping scams use webpages that look like an ordinary online store, a Facebook marketplace, or
some other online forum. Romance scams trick the victim into giving money as part of a
supposedly romantic relationship. Online fraud is a form of crime that evolves and changes form
over time. Most online scams are committed from abroad, and are often conducted by organized
international crime.

According to Jintaro Chikamatsu (2022) attackers impersonate a company or government

agency and send fraudulent emails or SMS. As of April 2022, more than 10,000 fake websites
had been confirmed that were for phishing purposes. Fraudulent sites that the victims access
from the emails are also elaborately created. The Council of Anti-Phishing Japan described that
emails mimicking more than 100 companies and organizations including banks and mobile
carriers have been sent. In March this year, Keiko received multiple emails from her bank, all
with the subject line “You've completed a money transfer.” The Fukushima Prefecture resident in
her 20s felt something was off, and checked her transfer history via the bank's official app.

According to The Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council
(2021) says a study on, scamming through modern communication tools is something everyone
could encounter in their daily lives. In 2021, Thailand had received over 6.4 million fraudulent
phone calls, an increase of 270 per cent and a 57 per cent increase in fraudulent SMS messages.
The survey found that nearly half of Thai people have been scammed in one year and about two
in five have been the victims of scamming. Some 82.6 per cent of online goods buyers did not
receive the product, but the average damage at THB600 - THB700 per person was not very high.
Many scams are transnational organized crime/criminals, making them unable to find the
mastermind. The government should consider setting up a specific agency with oversight duties
to prevent and deter scams through the internet and modern communications.

According to Sally Rao Hill & Graciela Corral de Zubielqui (2022) recent security and
privacy breaches, online fraud, identity theft, and online scams have amplified the public's
privacy concerns in recent years. This paper examines privacy management with a focus on B2B
marketing in the digital era. Our findings suggest that privacy issues evolve with changing
technologies of the digital age. It concludes with implications of privacy issues for managers and
policymakers.

According to Inspired eLearning (2022) in a phishing threat, cybercriminals use

impersonation to boost trust with targets in an attempt to get access, sensitive data, or money out
of their targets. Scammers impersonate someone the targets trust, such as government agencies,
well-known brands, or personal connections. Although phishing scams often have clear
indicators—an urgent tone, unprompted messages, or a compromised URL or attachment—it’s
not as easy to pinpoint them in the wild. The personal data hackers might try to steal include
financial information, login credentials, social security numbers, and bank account details.

According to Jason Andress (2014) Catfishing is one form of impersonation. It is defined

by most people as a phenomenon of Internet scammers who fabricate online identities and entire
social circles to trick people into romantic relationships (Peterson, 2013). A deceiver creates a
fake profile on a social network site with the motive to trick people into thinking that they are
someone else. They can use fake photos, fake biographies, and fake social network. Though
online deception has always been a part of social media, only recently has the topic of
“catfishing” been so prominent in the media. The term was made popular after a documentary
film (2010) by the same name. Catfishing is a good reminder that we see what others want us to
see when it comes to crafting an identity.
 Local Related Literature

According to Republic of the Philippines (Philippines News Agency) by Kris Crismundo

(2022) Manila is increasing digital fraud attempts against businesses and consumers in the
Philippines was observed during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, according to the Global
Consumer Pulse study of global information and insights company TransUnion. Salcedo in
Eastern Samar, Makati City, and Manila were the top three areas with the highest share of
suspected fraudulent digital transactions. TransUnion has seen a 31-percent increase in attacks
this year from pre-pandemic level in March 11, 2019 to March 10, 2020. Results showed a
significant increase in attempted fraud from the Philippines against telecommunication
companies.

According to CNN Philippines Staff (2022) a cybercrime expert warns the public against
so-called "love scams," where victims lose money to someone they believe is in love with them.
First, don't get too excited when people communicate with you that way, and try to leverage on
the power of the internet," Lorenzo told CNN Philippines. “Download their profile picture and go
through Google image search. Because definitely these images are downloaded. If they ask for
money, that isn't real. That's not love, that's a scam.” Lorenzo said cases of love scams began
rising during the pandemic because nearly everyone was online. They also observed that most of
the culprits are Filipinos.

According to Ferdinand Patinio (2017) The Bureau of Customs has cautioned Filipino
and foreign netizens against an online scam that lures victims with fake love and promises.
Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapena issued the warning after receiving reports of increasing
incidents of the internet scam, citing data from the bureau’s help desk, BOC-CARES. The victim
was duped to pay PHP30,000 to a certain Jenalyn Miranda for the release of the package said to
be held by Customs. However, after paying Miranda via money transfer, the suspects asked for
an additional PHP80,000 for the release of the package. The scammer often preys on their
victims by befriending them online and promising to send them a package containing gifts along
with huge sum of money. Others are victimized via text messages or phone calls claiming they
have a package held by Customs, often citing the BOC in Cebu, and the victim has to send
money to get the package. “They would usually use the name of the bureau and pose as BOC
employees who are asking money to shoulder the duties and taxes in exchange for the release of
the package,” Lapena said. The victims are often asked to deposit money through money transfer
service or bank accounts in Cebuana, Western Union, or BDO. The BOC chief noted that they
collect customs duties and taxes through accredited agent banks and not through personal bank
accounts or other money transfer services. “If in case a stranger texted or chatted you about an
unclaimed package held by BOC, or there is money in the package, you can double check the
existence of the package by reaching the BOC Helpdesk at 705-6000 or by sending us a message
at our Facebook page Bureau of Customs PH,” he added.
 According to The Manila Times (2023) a global leader in cybersecurity recently shared
its analysis of the landscape of the most widespread cyber threat in the world: scams. Accounting
for 57 percent of all financially motivated cybercrime, the scam industry is becoming more
structured and involves more and more parties divided into hierarchical groups. The number of
such groups jumped to a record high of 390, which is 3.5 times more than last year, when the
maximum number of active groups was close to 110. Due to SaaS (Scam-as-a-Service) in 2021,
the number of cybercriminals in one scam gang increased 10 times compared to 2020 and now
reaches 100.

According to Lawrence Agcaoili (2021) the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is urging
Filipinos to practice cyberhygiene as cybercriminals continue to take advantage of the shift in
consumer behavior amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In his message during the 2021 BSP Youth
Summit yesterday, BSP Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan said data from the Anti
Cybercrime Group of the Philippines showed a 37 percent jump in online scams to 869 cases
from January to September last year from 633 in the same period in 2019. Tangonan said
consumers should also transact only with legitimate and trustworthy online merchants, keep
transaction records and regularly review their transaction history, report suspicious account
activity to their banks, and stay vigilant in protecting their account from hackers, scammers as
well as fraudsters.

According to CK Leo (2022) while the convenience afforded by digital banking has seen
its popularity grow among consumers, especially post-pandemic, so too has its appeal for
criminals. Scammers are attracted to the increase in money flows, growth in some inexperienced
users and finding new ways to con consumers online where money is transacted. Banking fraud
losses in the Philippines hit P1 billion last year as digital fraud and scams rose alongside the
increase in digital transactions.

According to Christine Cudis (2021) the general public should practice heightened
vigilance against cybercriminals as reported online scams in the Philippines continue to go up, an
official of the trade association of key players in the financial technology industry in the country
said on Wednesday. Data from the global think tank Cybersecurity Ventures shows that the
impact of cybercrime is expected to generate USD6 trillion worldwide by 2021. It is expected to
reach USD10.5 trillion in 2025, it added. In the Philippines, various cybercrime incidents have
been reported throughout the pandemic that started a year ago. On its website, the Philippine
National Police (PNP) Anti-Cybercrime Group reported that there are 869 online scam cases
from March to September 2020. This is higher by 37 percent compared to 633 in the same period
in 2019.

According to Elijah Felice Rosales (2022) The recent deluge of text scams has claimed
millions of dollars from network subscribers in the Philippines who ended up clicking on
malicious links and giving up sensitive information. Full names are now appearing on text spams
raising concern among Filipinos. According to a National Privacy Commission official, names
may have been manually or automatically scraped from certain apps.

According to Syrah Vivien Inocencio, CNN Philippines (2022) Scammers seem to have
taken their fraudulent acts to the next level with “personalized” spam text messages bearing the
names of recipients. In the past weeks, victims of the bogus messages have been sounding the
alarm on social media, with some claiming they received messages from unknown numbers with
their full names on it. Celebrities and even government officials were not spared. PNP-ACG
Acting Director Joel Doria explained that there are several possible ways scammers can collect
the personal information of the recipients of their spam messages. He said scammers can
purchase mobile numbers in bulk being sold illegally on the dark web—a collection of websites
where users can buy or sell personal data through a special type of browser. It is used for keeping
anonymous internet activity, but its enhanced encryption is often utilized for illegal activities.

According to Ted Cordero, GMA News (2022) A top official of the Cybercrime
Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) said Tuesday that Filipino mobile phone users lost
“millions of dollars” due to the barrage of scam text messages that recently contained the names
of recipients. CICC, an attached agency of the Department of Information and Communications
Technology, said in a Senate inquiry last month that it was investigating six syndicates behind
the text scams. Asked if the agency has an estimate of how much these syndicates have already
stolen from Filipino mobile phone users, Magsaysay said, “It’s in the millions of dollars. The
CICC official also said that the agency is already building cases against the syndicates behind the
text scams. As part of efforts to combat scam text messages, Globe Telecom has temporarily
blocked text messages that contain website links.

Related Studies

Foreign Related Studies

According to Miramirkhani, Najmeh, Oleksii Starov, and Nick Nikiforakis (2016) technical
support scams are responsible for yearly losses of tens of millions of dollars from everyday users
of the web. They report on the first systematic study of technical support scams and the call
centers hidden behind them. They build an automated system capable of discovering hundreds of
phone numbers and domains operated by scammers. They explain how our findings can be used
by law-enforcing agencies and propose technical and educational countermeasures for helping
users avoid being victimized.

According to Ross, M., Grossmann, I., & Schryer, E. (2014) M. Ross, I. according to
psychological and popular belief, older people are especially vulnerable to consumer fraud. They
examined the evidence on the prevalence of consumer fraud and concluded that there is no clear
evidence that it is more prevalent among the elderly. In aggregate, there is evidence that
consumer fraud is less common among older adults than among adults of other ages. However,
because of flaws in the methodologies, this evidence could be flawed. In the absence of
irrefutable data, it is premature to conclude that consumer fraud is less prevalent among older
adults; however, it is also premature to conclude that consumer fraud is more prevalent among
older people, as conventional and psychological wisdom assumes.

According to Sarno, D. M., Lewis, J. E., Bohil, C. J., & Neider, M. B. (2020) older adults
may be a vulnerable population to phishing attacks. Previous research has used retrospective
self-report measures and restricted email sets. The present studies explored how older and
younger adults classify a diverse sample of 100 legitimate and phishing emails. Older adults took
significantly longer to make classifications and were more liberal in classifying emails as spam
or not safe.

According to Coluccia A, Pozza A, Ferretti F, Carabellese F, Masti A, Gualtieri G. (2020)

Online romance scams are a modern form of fraud that has spread in Western societies. There
are two notable features: on the one hand, the double trauma of losing money and a relationship,
and the victim's shame upon discovering the scam. Twelve studies were included. Sixty-three
percent of social media users and 3% of the general population report having been a victim at
least once. Some psychological variables appear to be associated with the risk of being scammed,
such as female gender, middle-age, higher levels of neuroticism, tendencies to the romantic
idealization of affective relations, sensation seeking, impulsiveness and susceptibility to
addiction.

According to E. B. B. Palad, M. S. Tangkeko, L. A. K. Magpantay and G. L. Sipin (2019)

the Philippine National Police - Anti Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG) reported an increasing
number of complaints from a double digit in 2013 to a triple digit figure in 2017. This study
exploits Weka text mining tool in order to draw insights by classifying a given online scam
dataset. J48 Decision Tree, Naïve Bayes, and Sequential Minimal Optimization were used to
build classification models. The absence of empirical studies on cybercrime analytics in the
country connotes the lack of exploitation of data mining.

According to Peter Fischer, Stephen E. G. Lea, Kath M. Evans (2013) the psychological
determinants of scam compliance Why do so many people all over the world, so often, react to
completely worthless scam offers? The researchers investigated differences between respondents
who did and did not report past compliance with scams in two questionnaire studies, one of
which included the distribution of an experimentally manipulated simulated scam. The
researchers discovered that the main differences were in their responses to very high-value
incentives, the extent to which they reacted positively to the prospect of winning a large prize,
their reliance on signs of official authority, and their self-confidence. The first two of these are
examples of visceral processing. Some of these differences suggested a difference in disposition
between victims and non-victims.

According to Bharat Srinivasan, Athanasios Kountouras, Najmeh Miramirkhani, Monjur

Alam, Nick Nikiforakis, Manos Antonakakis, and Mustaque Ahamad (2018) technical Support
Scams (TSS) have evolved to exploit ubiquitously used online services such as search and
sponsored advertisements served in response to search queries. We use a data-driven approach to
understand search-and-ad abuse by TSS to gain visibility into the online infrastructure that
facilitates it. Our study period of approximately eight months uncovered over 9,000 TSS
domains, of both passive and aggressive types.

According to S. Grazioli and S. L. Jarvenpaa, consumer opinions of a legitimate

commercial website and a fake site that imitates it are compared in a study. The fake website
uses deceptive tactics to boost visitor trust, reduce perceived risk, and improve the possibility
that they would make a purchase. The findings indicate that while a few subjects were successful
in spotting the fraud techniques, most did not. Overall, the study highlights how susceptible
customers are to assault by cybercriminals using a fake website.

According to Mbaziira, A., & Jones, J. (2016) Incidents of cybercrime exploiting text-
based deception discourse are increasing due to popularity of text messages. We use machine
learning and linguistic approaches to detect deception within text messages in cybercriminal
networks. We develop cybercrime detection models by web genre. Our contributions are: models
trained in scams in social media web genre detect fraud in messages in the email web genre with
60% predictive accuracy; models trained on fraud in the email genre can predict scams in social
media web genre with 50% predictive accuracy. The prediction for the email model is promising
due to the linguistic variations of cybercriminals in this study. We also demonstrate that
cybercrime detection models can be constructed using features from natural language processing
and linguistic psychological processes linked to cybercrime.

According to Cassandra Cross (2018) Australia provides victims of violent crime access
to financial support to assist with recovery, excluding victims of nonviolent offences. The author
argues eligibility to access victim assistance schemes should consider harms suffered rather than
the offence experienced. Online fraud victims' experiences include deterioration in health and
well-being, relationship breakdown, homelessness, and unemployment, and even suicidal
ideation.

Local Related Studies

According to Rorberto M. Secretaria, Amelia Girly L. Aranas, Christina Y. Pacubas,

Leovigilda L. Bithay (2021) this paper presents the distribution of the online customers,
preferred payment options, level of trust in online shops, and customers' purchase intentions
towards different shop characteristics. It was concluded that the ecommerce industry in the
country enjoys a relatively high trust rating among its customers. Skeptical minds begin to
question the security of online purchases. Many fears, but some are confident.

According to Castañeda, E. C., Mariano, E., & Zurbano, M. M. (2021) the period of the
COVID-19 pandemic saw a rise in financially fraudulent activities such as investment scams,
donation scams, and phishing scams. A study aimed to determine the likelihood of Filipinos to
detect financially fraudulent schemes based on their level of financial literacy. No significant
effect was found from financial literacy to one's propensity to detect fraud. Recommendations for
investors, financial educators, government agencies, and researchers were discussed in this
paper.

According to Blancaflor, E. B., Alfonso, A. B., & Banganay, K. N. (2021) phishing

attacks are on the rise across multiple platforms, including personal and business emails, short
message services (SMS), and the emerging tactic of social media accounts. This study will
demonstrate how phishing attacks can be carried out with little to no rapport in comparison to
unknown senders and promotional links. A fake phishing website was created and distributed to
107 people: 46 via email, 37 via social media chat, and 24 via SMS.

According to Eddie Bouy B. Palad, Mary Jane F. Burden, Christian Ray dela Torre,
Rachelle Bea C. Uy (2020) text mining is one way of extracting knowledge and finding out
hidden relationships among data. A lack of literature focusing on cybercrimes implies the lack of
utilization of data mining in facilitating cybercrime investigations in the Philippines. The dataset
consists mainly of unstructured data of 49,822 mainly Filipino words. 5 decision tree algorithms
namely, J48, Hoeffding Tree, Decision Stump, REPTree, and Random Forest were employed.
Results show that J48 achieves the highest accuracy and the lowest error rate among other
classifiers.

According to Ma. Regina M. Hechanova, Renee Ortega-Go (2017) this study expands the
Uses and Gratification Theory by examining Internet use and its outcomes among Filipino
Internet users. Results revealed that purposes or activities using the Internet can be grouped into
seven factors, namely basic Internet use, entertainment, expression and interaction, e-commerce,
school-related, and technological deviance. Negative outcomes can be described in terms of
social harm and Internet addiction. In the second phase, surveys were administered to 387
respondents from all over the Philippines.

According to Delia Theresa C. Escobar (2022) a study investigated the cybersecurity

practices of faculty, students, and administrative staff of Cagayan State University, Philippines.
Eight campuses were used as locale of the study and there were 1,555 respondents. The study
revealed that the respondents' level of cybersecurity practices is highly favorable, and this was
consistent along the five dimensions namely: Malware, Password Usage, Online Scam, Phishing
and Social Engineering. A policy framework on cybersecurity is being proposed.
 According to Rainier Michael R. Magsino Mary Trinity Y. Matias, Niño A. Quizon,
Franco Rafael P. Yap (2021) restaurants should be ready for the problems that come with
expanding their physical operations to online platforms, such as cyber risks and attacks. Along
with this technological transition, two things that need to be respected are digital resilience and
digital security preparation. Several businesses, like Pepper Tree Foods, Kkokko Pop, and
InnFlight Grill & Bar, have effectively adopted digital transformation. As a result of several
cyberthreats and attacks, including photo theft, potential payment fraud, and online complaints
from unhappy customers, Pepper Tree Foods demonstrated strong digital resilience. The
management responded quickly with customer-based solutions.

According to Mideth Abisado (2017) technology often tries to mimic nature. Therefore,
the idea to recognize a user based on several of their traits, as it is done in real life, logically
comes to mind. In this case in order to solve concerns with online examination fraud and
cheating, this study uses keystroke analysis and identification. As students take an online exam,
the Multi-Layer Perceptron Neural Network is used to categorize their keystrokes. This
framework may represent a fresh non-intrusive recognition method that contributes significantly
to the security of an information system.

According to Clemente, Jedidiah Reuben Cabitac (2015) mobile dating apps have
become self-presentation spaces and stages among the youth in the search for romance and
sexual relationships, a study by the University of the Philippines suggests. Users' willingness to
share or link other social media accounts is a measure of identity authenticity for some given the
reality that dishonesty, fraud, and security concerns are still associated with online dating. The
study examines the experiences of 50 young adults who have been using dating apps to search
for love or lust.

According to Bautista, Earl Lawrence U. Cirunay, Eliana J. Cuesta, Mariel Johnel S.

Quimora, Maverick Jhumar I. Sarsalejo, Stephanie G. Torla, Mariel Denise L. Victoria, Hannah
Faith A. (2022) one of the distinctive improvements seen in mobile phones are e-wallet
programs, which are valued by consumers for their ease. However, as e-wallets have become
more popular, online scams happened more frequently and were mostly experienced by e-wallet
users of all ages. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between e-wallet
users' ages and the frequency of scams they experienced. The researchers came to the conclusion
that as people get older, there are more scams, according to the Pearson correlation coefficient.

CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
 This chapter presents the description of the method use, the data gathering procedure, and
the participants of the study.

Research Design

To determine the lived experience of scamming victims and the psychological effects of
the effect, the researchers used a qualitative research design for this study According to S Kenny
(2021) Qualitative research is a type of research that investigates and offers deeper insights into
real-world issues. Instead of asking how many or how much, qualitative research collects
participants' experiences, perceptions, and behavior and answers the how and whys. For this
study, the researchers used a phenomenological research design, according to Deakin University
(2021) it is used to describe individuals' lived experiences and how humans experience a
particular phenomenon. Analysis entails attempting to identify themes or, if possible, making
generalizations about how a specific phenomenon is perceived or experienced.

Participants of the Study

Participants in the study included three Tanauan City Academy Senior High School
students on the TVL track and an adult who had been a victim of online financial scams. The
researchers chose four respondents: three students and one adult. The three students will be
chosen from the researchers' school, Tanauan City Academy, Inc A.Y 2022-2023 Technical
Vocational Livelihood Track, and the adult will be a friend of one of the researchers who have
been scammed online.

Data Gathering Instruments

The researchers' goal is to provide victims with a complete, detailed description of the
effects and causes of online scamming. To achieve this goal, the researchers used an open-ended
questionnaire instrument to collect the data needed for the study. The researcher used this
method of data collection because it is known to be less biased and the least expensive method of
data collection.
 APPENDIX A: Photo Documentation

Photo #1: Research member Allyza Mariel Balahadia interviewing Zecret Ann Recillo in the
interviewers’ respective home
 Photo #2: Research member Allyza Mariel Ballahadia after reviewing the selected participant of the
study Zecret Ann Recillo

Photo #3: Research member Fabrizio Rossi Ballon interviewing Angel Mary D. Maguiat, a Grade 11 -
FBS student in Tanauan City Academy Inc. A.Y 2022-2023
Photo #4: Research member Kyle Juztin interviewing Emmanuel T. Vivas, a Grade 12 - ICT student in
Tanauan City Academy Inc. A.Y 2022-2023

Photo #5: Research member Jasmen R. Montablan interviewing 3 people who have been scammed,
participant included in the research study is Ruvie Mae Balauro
Photo #6: Research member Jasmen R. Montablan after interviewing 3 people who have been scammed,
participant included in the research study is Ruvie Mae Balauro

APPENDIX B: Verbatim Transcription of The Interview

Interview #1

Interviewer: Allyza Mariel Balahadia

Interviewee: Zecret Ann Recillo

Date of interview: January 21, 2023

Location of interview: The interview was carried out in the interviewers’ home

Allyza: Hello, what is your name and your current age?

Zecret: Hello, my name is Zecret Ann Recillo and I am 21 years old.

Allyza: Let’s start off the interview by asking long have you been using the internet
before you were scammed?

Zecret: I've been using internet for almost a decade before I experienced being scammed
Allyza: Wow, what were you doing before you got scammed?

Zecret: I was browsing online and I was trying to order a bouquet of flower for my friend

Allyza: Were you scammed while browsing for the flower then?

Zecret: Yes, I was scammed when I tried to buy the bouquet of flower for my friend via
Facebook market place on Facebook.

Allyza: What was the reason you were scammed and what made you compel to their trap?

Zecret: We badly needed the bouquet that time and they were the only shop that offers
what we were searching, plus, they give us their promo package and same day delivery

Allzya: I’m sorry that you were scammed, but how were you feeling during the scam?

Zecret: I felt confused and had a little idea that it was even a scam

Allyza: Okay, then how did you feel after you got scammed?

Zecret: I felt really annoyed to myself that I fell to their trap and sad to the point that I
really cried

Allyza: How did the scamming experience affect your daily life and has anything changed
with you psychologically after?

Zecret: I barely trust online shops especially the market place on Facebook and shops that
has a payment first policy.

Allyza: Have you become more vigilant or aware of the various online scams that exist
and if so, how?

Zecret: Yes, I am checking the account, the ratings, the comments and feedbacks and
their service before ordering. And also, I only order if it is cash on delivery.

Allyza: Thank you for your time for our interview.

Interview #2

Interviewer: Jasmen R. Montablan

Interviewee: Ruvie Mae Balauro

Date of interview: January 22, 2023

Location of interview: The interview was carried out in the interviewer and interviewees
respective homes via a video call.
Jasmen: Hello, before we start our interview what is your name and age?

Ruvie: My name is Ruvie Mae Balauro and currently I am 32 years old.

Jasmen: And to start our interview, how long have you been using the internet before you
were scammed?

Ruvie: I have been using the internet for 15 years.

Jasmen: How did the scam happen? Did it happen through text messages like SMS,
maybe through websites, or something else?

Ruvie: The scam happened to me through a website, I was purchasing an item from a
website.

Jasmen: I see, but what made you feel like you have been scammed?

Ruvie: Well, I was deceived by the sellers, I purchased an item from them and I was
given the wrong item and the item I received was very worthless and useless to me.

Jasmen: What did you feel when that happened?

Ruvie: Of course, I was very annoyed, tense and restless because I paid for something
and received something else in return.

Jasmen: How did that unfortunate experience affect your mental health and life?

Ruvie: It brings stress to me even today and I feel more paranoid when using the internet
to purchase things because of the scamming that happens online.

Jasmen: Have you become more aware of the online scams that lurk around the internet
and how to avoid it and if yes, how so?

Ruvie: Yes, I’ve become more cautious and vigilant when buying or doing things online,
before I buy or do anything online, I make sure that it isn’t a scam. I also
now try to reach out to the sellers before I purchase anything from them.

Jasmen: Thank you for your time ate Ruvie!

Interview #3

Interviewer: Fabrizio Rossi Ballon

Interviewee: Angel Mary D. Manguiat

Date of interview: January 23, 2022

Location of interview: The interview was carried out in Tanauan City Academy Inc.
Fabrizio: Before the interview start, let’s start off by asking your full name and your current
age.

Angel: Hello, my name is Angel Mary D. Manguiat and I am 16 years old right now.

Fabrizio: What kind of scam did you experience?

Angel: I was purchasing an item online from a person and paid through G-Cash, but I
was scammed because after I paid, the scammer stopped replying to me and blocked
me so I didn’t get the item I paid for.

Fabrizio: How old were you when this happened to you?

Angel: It happened in the year 2020, so I was 14 years old at the time.

Fabrizio: How long have you been using the internet before you got scammed?

Angel: I think I’ve been using the internet more and occasionally for around 4-5 years

Fabrizio: What were you doing before the scam occurred?

Angel: I was just waiting for the seller to reply to me.

Fabrizio: What happened after that?

Angel: Well they stopped responding and stopped all communication so I stopped trying
and just let it go.

Fabrizio: How were you feeling when you got scammed?

Angel: I was very angry but I came to the conclusion that being angry wouldn’t help me
or help me getting my money back so I just moved on.

Fabrizio: Did this experience help you to become more careful and cautious before
purchasing or doing anything online?

Angel: Yes, I realized that it’s better to check things carefully before buying or paying
for them and now I think before I click. Before making a purchase I typically pay
more attention to the app or store to see if it’s legit to avoid being scammed again so I
can say I’ve become more cautious and online when purchasing things
online.

Fabrizio: Thank you for your time to have this interview, Angel.

Interview #4
Interviewer: Kyle Juztine M. Patron

Interviewee: Emmanuel T. Vivas

Date of interview: January 22, 2023

Location of interview: The interview was carried out in the interviewer and interviewees
respective homes via a video call.

Kyle: What is your full name and current age?

Emmanuel: My name is Emmanuel T. Vivas and I am currently 18 years old.

Kyle: When you were scammed, how old were you?

Emmanuel: If I’m not mistaken, I was 16 years old when I was scammed.

Kyle: How long have you been using the internet before you got scammed?

Emmanuel: A long time ago already, I think since I was in elementary I’ve already been
using the internet.

Kyle: What were you doing before you got scammed?

Emmanuel: Before I was scammed, I was a content creator in an application with an agency
handling me.

Kyle: Wow, that’s awesome! Could you tell us how the scam was carried out? Via
phone, text messages or website?

Emmanuel: The scam happened through a website, that made us create an account then we
had to pay for the account to watch the ads to earn money.

Kyle: How did you feel after the scam happened?

Emmanuel: Of course it was very saddening for me, because the first thing that went into my
mind is to earn money and instead of earning money, you are instead taken
money from and it’s saddening because it makes you lose trust for others ‘cause of that.

Kyle: How did the scam affect your mental health and life?

Emmanuel: Well, because of the scam I’ve become more careful and not easily fooled where
I’m easily tricked with things that are being said to me, now I always need
to have proof and evidence in order to believe it’s true.

Kyle: Have you become more vigilant and aware of the various online scams that exist,
and if so how?
Emmanuel: Uhm.. Yes I am more aware that there are new modes of scams because until now
there’s still scammers that still try to find out if they can still trick me and scam
me and then so far no scammers have succeeded in tricking me because of my past
experience, so yes I’ve become more careful when using the internet.

Kyle: Okay, that’s all thank you for your time Emmanuel.