MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. on Thursday said the success of the fight against investment scammers rested on the public, who he urged to be vigilant against new technologies used in fraudulent schemes.

While authorities "continue strengthening our capabilities" to block fraud, scammers "come up with new technology...[and] new techniques," Marcos said.

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"We have to be very, very careful and also be aware of the new technologies, of the new ways in which we can prevent these kinds of things. But it really comes down to the public," the President said in a chance interview with reporters.

He urged the public to be wary of deals which sound "too good to be true" and appear to be risk-free.

"If the public is aware and knows and is able to spot because of the way that these scams are presented, then that is the best defense that we have," he added.

A new law that required SIM registration was a "big step" to curb SMS-based scams, Marcos said.

Marcos made the statement during the launch of new digital services by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The SEC previously warned the public against online investment scams and urged them to check firms' licenses. It recently said it was in talks with the privacy body to protect borrowers against supposedly abusive online lenders.

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