Something to look out for. Almost every picture I get sent from the Philippines has some level of filter added to the image...and this is from girls I actually know what they look like.
My personal experience showed that not all dating sites are scam. The one I used to find my wife had almost genuine girls on the site. All girls I dated were really existing.
I wouldn't say they are scams but all dating sites are scamming to an extent. This would be keeping inactive profiles alive in their counts and searchable, fake accounts in popular areas like Manila with pretty girls who send you a generic couple of messages and then never heard from again, to sometimes sites using longterm inactive profiles to send messages looking like they are active. But this doesn't mean their aren't any real girls or scammer girls as well. Many many real girls on these sites but many are driven off by foreign men who have NO intention of ever coming and instead just go right into asking for nudes, video chat and show them their t*ts and p*ssy and going right into sex talk. Other real girls who are on there aren't checking in hourly unless they actually have a chatmate they really like and then are likely chatting with him. Instead these girls are working, studying, and doing things so they won't often respond quickly and sometimes vanish for a weekend. The guys looking for a real GF however are often desperate with lots of time on their hands so looking for someone on a lot yet the girls on a lot are those who are likely making a job at it (scammers) or else those who are without decent education or a job and likely desperate (and usually very easy).
It is also a matter of filtering all the dating sites so that the serious one, without almost no scam, will remain. Still the best way to get in touch is eye contact, face to face, WYSIWYG, though your horizon is limited of course.
When I get those filtered images I never say nice pic or that they look good...I tell them "that's a nice filter ". They would usually stop for bit but would try to sneak them back in after awhile. Those filters are primarily used by women with very low self esteem. I don't have the time or patience for those type women any more (so I guess I should be leaving the Philippines}. They are nothing but trouble and headache.