Better, wiser, safer in 2024: Make 'legit check' your new year's resolution

MANILA, Philippines — It’s the start of a new year and the tradition of making resolutions takes center stage again. It's a time when people reflect on their lives, aspire to become better, and strive to make wiser choices.

This 2024, one of the most simple, yet impactful resolutions we could do collectively is to be not only better and wiser but also safer, especially in the face of rising scams and fraudulent activities in the Philippines.

The Philippines in 2023 recorded 11,071 cases of online scams, which accounted for 55.67% of the 19,884 total cybercrimes reported. Moreover, the country has been tagged as having the highest rate of online shopping scams among 11 economies surveyed in the 2023 Asia Scam Report.

Especially now that various aspects of our lives are rapidly being digitized, including financial transactions, paying attention to red flags and doing “legit check” can be the key to saving oneself from potential pitfalls.

Similar to fact-checking, a legit check assesses the authenticity of something or someone selling a product or service online, to save your hard-earned money from scams and scammers.

Here’s how you can do the simple process of Legit Checking every time you transact online.

They say being judgmental is bad, but sometimes it could save you from scammers around you.

Before agreeing to pay for a product, always make time to examine the seller’s profile. Visit their profile, check for their recent activities, do a quick search of the business or seller’s name to make sure they are not imitating a legitimate business or individual.

Look out for specific signs—red flags—that can help you easily identify potential risks, here are some:

And because everyone hates scammers, you can even ask social media groups to “legit check” the seller, if anyone has had experience buying from them, or has been scammed before. This way, you’re making sure that the person you’re transacting has been vouched for by other buyers.

Check for reviews and complaints about the business on various platforms, including the seller’s own profile, independent review sites and social media pages.

Additionally, try to sharpen your BS radar when checking reviews on apps,