The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) cautioned the public on Monday, April 22, against falling for reward scams and urged everyone to refrain from clicking suspicious links.
The CICC warned against the "spread of a reward scam masquerading to be from Globe Telecom that has been phishing personal and bank details of victims."
The scam short message service (SMS) from the said telecom read: “The globe points service reminds you that your current points account (3,022 points) will expire today. Redeem your points as soon as possible. Please reply Y then exit SMS, open the SMS to activate the link again, or copy the link to the Safari browser and open it.”
In a statement, CICC Executive Director Alexander K. Ramos pointed out that said the domain "globeeph.top" is among those preying on vulnerable customers.
"Once customers click the domain, they are required to provide personal details and bank account number to be able to redeem their points," CICC pointed out.
Ramos also emphasized the importance of blocking the domain.
He vowed to continuously alert the public about SMS fraud, particularly those originating from unofficial sources.
“There is nothing to cause alarm, but as part of the protocol, we have recommended the blocking of the domain to avoid victimizing more customers,” Ramos said.
“We also want to reiterate our appeal to the public to stop clicking links from unofficial sources in order to avoid being scammed,” he added.
As the suspicious link was scanned in Gogolook, an anti-fraud network, it classified globeeph.top as a “dangerous link.”
The "Whoscall" app, developed by Gogolook, is a useful tool designed to protect users from fraudulent phone calls, spam messages, and malicious links.
Whoscall provides protection against scams and unwanted communication through its intuitive call and message identification system.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2024/3/18/whoscall-empowering-users-to-fight-against-scams
CICC also encouraged victims of phishing to call 1326, the Inter-Agency Response Center, for swift response to cybercrime-related incidents.