MANILA, April 9 -- The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Tuesday again cautioned netizens to exercise vigilance in online activities as cybercrime cases saw an increase in the first quarter of this year.

In its latest data, the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) logged a total of 4,469 cybercrime incidents from January to March 2024, a 21.84 percent uptick from 3,668 incidents in the fourth quarter of 2023.

ACG chief Maj. Gen. Sidney Hernia said online selling scams topped the list of cybercrimes at 990, followed by 319 cases of investment scams and 309 cases of debit/credit card fraud, among others.

He said the increase in cybercrime incidents can be attributed to factors such as increased online activity, sophisticated tactics of cybe...