{"id":74565,"date":"2026-07-09T06:56:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T22:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/?p=74565"},"modified":"2026-07-08T18:58:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T10:58:27","slug":"filipinos-think-they-are-safe-online-but-their-behavior-tells-a-different-story-bolttech-study-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/2026\/07\/09\/filipinos-think-they-are-safe-online-but-their-behavior-tells-a-different-story-bolttech-study-finds\/","title":{"rendered":"Filipinos think they are safe online \u2014 but their behavior tells a different story, bolttech study finds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Global insurtech bolttech has released new research showing that consumers in the Philippines rank among the most confident in Asia-Pacific in their online safety, but this confidence is not reflected in actual behavior, exposing many to cyber risks.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the Philippines, 96% of respondents rate their online safety habits as \u201cgood\u201d or \u201cvery good,\u201d yet less than half (48%) consistently practice strong cyber hygiene, resulting in a 48-point perception gap, wider than the regional average (41%).<\/p>\n

This gap is reflected in real\u2011world exposure. bolttech\u2019s Asia\u2011Pacific Cyber Safety Landscape 2026<\/em> study found that 93% of Filipinos have encountered a scam attempt \u2013 above the regional average of 89% \u2013 with 57% already victims of cybercrime, compared to 39% across Asia\u2011Pacific, while 58% expect someone in their household to fall victim within the next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat this shows is that the issue is no longer awareness \u2014 it\u2019s behavior,\u201d said Jemma Delacruz, General Manager, Philippines, bolttech. \u201cConsumers already know cyber risks exist, but protection today still depends too heavily on individuals making the right decisions every time. What\u2019s needed now is a shift towards support that is embedded and seamless, so people are protected as they go about their everyday digital lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

The study, conducted with Blackbox Research, highlights that risky online habits remain widespread in the Philippines. Nearly 70% of consumers reuse passwords across multiple accounts, increasing the likelihood that a single breach can compromise multiple platforms.<\/p>\n

Despite this awareness of cyber risks, many still fail to follow basic cyber hygiene practices, leaving themselves exposed to increasingly sophisticated scams.<\/p>\n

Across Asia-Pacific, the findings reveal clear regional contrasts, with much of Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia, reporting higher exposure to cybercrime and more frequent scam activity compared to other markets in Asia- Pacific such as South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and Australia.<\/p>\n

\u201cScams have become an inescapable friction in the regional digital economy,\u201d\u00a0observed\u00a0David Black, Founder and CEO, Blackbox Research, Singapore.\u00a0\u201cYet even with the vast majority facing scam threats,\u00a0there is a stark disconnect between public anxiety and personal action, as most consumers declare their own safety protocols are failing to keep pace.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Asia-Pacific Cyber Safety Landscape 2026 <\/em>report surveyed 3,850 consumers across 11 markets to assess online behaviors, experiences, and attitudes toward cyber risk. Click here<\/a> to read the full report.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the Philippines, 96% of respondents rate their online safety habits as \u201cgood\u201d or \u201cvery good,\u201d yet less than half (48%) consistently practice strong cyber hygiene, resulting in a 48-point perception gap, wider than the regional average (41%).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":72119,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,18],"tags":[8137,4695,54,96],"class_list":["post-74565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-headlines","category-white-papers","tag-boltech","tag-digital-divide","tag-security","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74565"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74565\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74566,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74565\/revisions\/74566"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72119"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}