Globe Telecom Inc. blocked 2.72 billion scam and spam messages in 2022, more than double the 2021 total of 1.15 billion, as it intensified its campaign against malicious SMS.
Notably, the telco blocked a total of 83.4 million bank-related spam messages last year.
Globe partnered with all major commercial banks and online retailers in the country to ensure information exchange for a more efficient response to spam and fraud SMS.
Blocking spam and scam messages continues to be a crucial component of Globe’s cybersecurity strategy, sparing customers from dangerous and disruptive SMS even before the SIM Registration Act was enforced.
"We will continue to invest in cybersecurity systems to protect customer as we also take part in the full implementation of the SIM Registration Act," said Anton Bonifacio, Globe Chief Information Security Officer. “We are taking great strides in our campaign to end text fraud.”
Alteady, Globe has spent $20 million to step up its spam and scam SMS detection and blocking system.
Its round-the-clock Security Operations Center filters out these unwanted messages, including app-to-person and person-to-person SMS of international and domestic sources.
In an industry first, Globe also started blocking person-to-person SMS with clickable URLs from all networks in September last year amid growing concern over escalating scam and spam messages, particularly those containing mobile users’ full names.
A couple of weeks after enforcing the measure, Globe blocked over 32.2 million scam and spam text messages with clickable links, or an average of 2.4 million SMS daily from September 28 to October 13, 2022.
Because of rising SMS-related crimes, the government enacted Republic Act No 11934 or the SIM (subscriber identity module) Registration Act last year to address the problem.
The law requires individuals to register their SIM and present a valid identification document to their respective service providers.
Aside from investing in tools to proactively detect suspicious content on the internet to protect its customers from online attacks, Globe has deployed fraud and security chatbots to assist employees with privacy and cybersecurity-related concerns.
Furthermore, the telco regularly provides customers with relevant information via social media advisories about fraud, cybersecurity, and data privacy to boost awareness and help them protect themselves against these threats.