A victim of the so-called ‘TEMU Investment Scam’ is urging Philippine authorities, particularly the Philippine National Police-Anti Cybercrime Group, the National Bureau of Investigation, the National Privacy Commission (NPC), as well as lawmakers, to investigate the scam, which victimizes citizens.

A mother of one, who wished to remain anonymous, sought the help of DAILY TRIBUNE to connect her with Senator Raffy Tulfo and law enforcement agencies to investigate the scam that cost her P260,000, part of which will be used for her daughter’s enrollment this upcoming school year.

“I was lured to invest because of the double your money assurance. They are utilizing Telegram (a cloud-based mobile and desktop messaging app) for their transactions. At first, I was able to get the “double your money” perks when I invested the small amount of money I got from them,” she lamented.

To increase profit, the victim said she acquired loans from various online lending apps (OLAs), as advised by a certain ‘manager’ that the victim had dealt with.

“We were given tasks to like and review TEMU posts. We are earning P120 that doubles in the subsequent hours or days. However, you are obliged to bet the accumulated amount to double or even triple it. Then, when that ‘money back guarantee’ amount arrives in your GCash account, you will be lured to invest more, using the money from the online lending apps,” she told DAILY TRIBUNE.

“Now, I am drowning in debt. Worst, these third-party, fly-by-night call center agents were able to access the contact list of my mobile phone. They keep on calling and sending threatening and blasphemous words against me and my contacts, compelling my friends and relatives to pay my debt. They told them that they should pay on my behalf, being the ‘guarantor’ of the debt,” the victim narrated.

The unfortunate event resulted in the transfer of her daughter from a private school to a public school, according to the victim.

Earlier, the NPC said that OLAs are not allowed to harvest the contacts of their borrowers without asking for consent.

Filipino debtors take time on OLAs

In a separate report, Asia Pacific Digido Finance Corporation reported that about 1.54 billion seconds, equivalent to 49 years, were spent by Filipinos using non-bank digital lending applications in 2024.

An examination of 47 digital lending applications duly registered to operate in the country, including Digido, revealed that the lion’s share of activity remained with platforms specializing in personal loans at 76.4 percent, followed by ‘buy now, pay later’ services at 21.4 percent and installment loans at 2.2 percent.

Activity seen in the applications rose by 16 percent compared to 2023.

On average, active users of digital lending apps spent approximately 12 minutes and 14 seconds per month in 2024, while the average duration of a user’s session was 58 seconds.

The personal loans segment was also the primary driver of the total number of application downloads, which increased by 42.4 percent year-on-year (YoY) from 89.66 to 127.69 million units.

Unique users increased by 43 percent YoY from 47.46 to 67.84 million people, while the number of active users increased by 53 percent YoY from 7.7 to 11.78 million people.

“Non-bank, digital-forward lenders maintain their current market growth rates despite the already high level of fintech penetration and saturation of offerings. Personal loans, in particular, remain a key driver of this industry due to their flexibility, ease of access, and competitive rates,” said Digido business development manager Rose Arreco.

“The growth in downloads, active and unique users, as well as the increase in total time spent in applications, indicate continued consumer interest and high demand for such financial instruments while illustrating the industry’s role in promoting financial inclusion and continuing towards increased access to formal credit,” he added.