Amid rise in spam, scam messages Globe calls for better ‘threat intelligence sharing’

CI TY OF SAN FERNANDO---Globe is one with the government in intensifying efforts to stamp out scammers and fraudsters as it called on industry stakeholders to strengthen "threat intelligence sharing" initiatives.

Speaking at a meeting with industry players including telcos, banks, and online retail platforms with the National Privacy Commission on Wednesday, Globe is ready to collaborate with other stakeholders to help protect Filipino customers from smishing and other fraudulent activities. Smishing occurs through mobile text messaging in which scammers deceive victims into giving their personal data. Scammers then use this data to take over a victim’s financial accounts.

“At the end of the day, we need to move very swiftly in preventing fraudulent attacks from reaching our customers, and we know we cannot do it alone. We need to improve private sector partnerships on top of what has already been a robust public sector enablement through the National Privacy Commission. Strength in numbers is key,” said Anton Bonifacio, Globe’s Chief Information Security Of f i cer.

Globe is a pioneer in partnering with major universal and commercial banks, as well as e-commerce giants Lazada and Shopee, to minimize not just spam but also scams and phishing activities. This ensures the protection of customers within the network. These partner companies report fake numbers, spoofed sender names, and websites. Globe uses this information to block the mobile numbers in its network immediately, as they are reported. It acts quickly as part of the 24x7 channels and collaborates with other private sector companies.

“Globe fights spam everyday. We reiterate our position that fraud prevention and detection is in Globe’s and our partnerbanks and online retailers’ shared legitimate interest as Personal Information Controllers, in order to ensure uninterrupted business operations, and ultimately, to protect our customers. We believe that pursuing fraud detection and prevention, and consequently, deactivating mobile numbers found to be spewing fraudulent messages, without the need of a court

order, constitutes legitimate interest and do not override our customers’fundamental rights and freedoms; rather, our proactive efforts to combat spam and fight fraud uphold these rights and freedoms, enabling them to transact worry-free through our digital channels,” said Atty. Irish Salandanan-Almeida, Globe’s Data Protection Officer.

At the same time, Globe will also comply with the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) order to warn customers on dubious text messages.

A text blast will be sent to customers:

“BABALA! Huwag maniwala sa text na diumanoý nag-aalok ng trabaho. Huwag po magbigay ng personal na impormasyon. Ito po ay isang scam.”

Globe cautioned its customers not to respond or engage text messages received involving promos, job offers and other unsolicited products and services. This elaborate scam is likely run by a global crime syndicate, and not unique to the Philippines, as earlier reported.

Globe continues to heighten its anti-spam and anti-scam campaign through a dedicated cybersecurity team that has deactivated 5,670 confirmed spam numbers, and successfully blocked close to 1 billion spam messages so far this year.

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The company’s specialized teams are part of a larger internal Cybersecurity and Data Privacy group that responds to spam complaints and proactively deals with spammers and scammers. Globe terminates and blocks numbers of detected spammers through its systems, including those reported through www.globe.com.ph/ stopspam.

Globe strongly supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly UN SDG No. 9, which highlights the roles of infrastructure and innovation as crucial drivers of economic growth and development. Globe is committed to upholding the UN Global Compact principles and contributes to 10 UN SDGs.

To learn more about Globe, visit www.globe.com.ph. (PR)