Globe Starts Blocking Links In Text Messages

Ayala-led Globe Telecom Inc. has taken the extreme measure of blocking all text messages that contain website links, in a further effort to prevent digital fraud.

Globe chief information security officer Anton Bonifacio announced Friday, Sept. 30, that the telco giant has started blocking text messages from both prepaid and postpaid numbers that carry uniform resource locators or URLs with them.

“Before implementing this measure, what we were doing was blocking access to malicious links in text messages to help protect customers,” Bonifacio explained. “This time around, we’re blocking the actual message. If the SMS has a link of any kind, we are not going to deliver it, period, [because] this is necessary to protect our customers.”

Bonifacio said Globe decided to take such an action in response to the growing incidence of text scams bearing the complete names of subscribers.

In an industry first, Globe now blocks the delivery of person-to-person messages that contain clickable links whatever the network might be.

Likewise, it took the initiative to begin blocking potential spams in preparation for the looming enforcement of subscriber identity module (SIM) registration.

Last Tuesday, Sept. 27,the Senate approved on third and final reading Senate Bill 1310 requiring all users to register their SIM to curb cybercrime activities like phishing and smishing – the fraudulent practice of sending text messages purporting to be from reputable companies in order to induce individuals to reveal personal information.

Sen. Grace Poe, who authored the measure, expects the bill to be signed into law by October or November, hoping that President Marcos would approve it unlike his predecessor who vetoed a similar measure.

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has instructed telco players to block all text messages that lure recipients into clicking on malicious links.

However, the action taken by Globe covers not just malicious platforms, but all website links, believing that this step could hurt the operations of cyber criminals.

“We are taking this measure for the security of our 92 million customers at Globe and 66 million more using GCash as we note how the modus operandi of fraudsters are becoming even more sophisticated. We hope this would make a major dent on various spam and scam SMS rackets,” Bonifacio said.

As of July, Globe has blocked more than 784 million text scams, protecting users from falling for fraudulent activities that mostly dupe them into giving up their bank details.

Accordingly, Globe has spent at least $20 million (at least P1.1 billion) in capital expenditures for security upgrades, mainly for the detection of text scams coming from international and local sources.

Multi-pronged approach

Smart, meanwhile, said it decided to forego blocking all clickable links in text messages and would instead employ a multi-pronged strategy against smishing.

“We believe that smishing is best fought with nuance, by wielding a scalpel and not an axe. We are taking a multi-pronged approach on targeted smishing," said Leah Jimenez, chief data privacy officer of PLDT and Smart.

Angel Redoble, the company’s first vice president and chief information security officer, added that Smart continues to put in place controls to enable it to respond to smishing more effectively. 

"SMS sent via our SMS broadcast service can no longer contain URL shorteners that have been shown to be used by SMS spammers. More importantly, we have not hesitated in suspending access to our network of aggregator-clients that have been involved in sending out smishing. We also continue to cooperate in the ongoing government investigations,” he said.

“We comply with the orders of our regulators for information on smishing activities. We have met with law enforcement officials to strategize on how to apprehend the perpetrators of these SMS scams. We still have our public awareness initiatives to educate the public on how best to protect themselves against SMS-related frauds" he added.

While the Smart has been tough against perpetrators, Jimenez stressed that it “has not lost sight of the need to protect our customers' right to privacy and the freedom to communicate.”

Gabriela hits mandatory SIM registration

For Gabriela party-list group, the SIM Registration Bill will not end the proliferation of text scams, but prove to endanger the Filipinos’ right to privacy.

In a statement, Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas said the impending approval of the measure is a “serious threat to the already poor status of data privacy and communication in the Philippines.”

Brosas noted the bill “puts forward a lopsided presumption that all Filipinos are considered as potential criminals and evading the law unless registered as SIM card holders.”

“There is no assurance that when SIM cards are registered, it will stop the circulation of spam messages and trolls. In real life, big personalities will only benefit from this,” she added.

The lawmaker warned that all personal information of those who registered their SIM cards will be forwarded to the public telecommunications entity, making their private data even more vulnerable to cyber attacks, spams, and scams.

“If now you are receiving so many spam and scam messages, this will worsen if all information of SIM card holders are uploaded in a database,” she said.

Brosas expressed concern that state security forces have been using the registered personal information of government critics for state surveillance and targeted attacks. 

“We cannot entrust our data to state security forces notorious for using critics’ personal information to harass and vilify them. We call on the Marcos Jr. administration to veto the bill and uphold the Filipinos’ right to communication,” she said. –

Ayala-led Globe Telecom Inc. has taken the extreme measure of blocking all text messages that contain website links, in a further effort to prevent digital fraud.??

Globe chief information security officer Anton Bonifacio announced Friday, Sept. 30, that the telco giant has started blocking text messages from both prepaid and postpaid numbers that carry uniform resource locators or URLs with them.?

“Before implementing this measure, what we were doing was blocking access to malicious links in text messages to help protect customers,” Bonifacio explained. “This time around, we’re blocking the actual message. If the SMS has a link of any kind, we are not going to deliver it, period, [because] this is necessary to protect our customers.”?

Bonifacio said Globe decided to take such an action in response to the growing incidence of text scams bearing the complete names of subscribers.

In an industry first, Globe now blocks the delivery of person-to-person messages that contain clickable links whatever the network might be.

Likewise, it took the initiative to begin blocking potential spams in preparation for the looming enforcement of subscriber identity module (SIM) registration.?

Last Tuesday, Sept. 27,the Senate approved on third and final reading Senate Bill 1310 requiring all users to register their SIM to curb cybercrime activities like phishing and smishing – the fraudulent practice of sending text messages purporting to be from reputable companies in order to induce individuals to reveal personal information.?

Sen. Grace Poe, who authored the measure, expects the bill to be signed into law by October or November, hoping that President Marcos would approve it unlike his predecessor who vetoed a similar measure.?

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has instructed telco players to block all text messages that lure recipients into clicking on malicious links.

However, the action taken by Globe covers not just malicious platforms, but all website links, believing that this step could hurt the operations of cyber criminals.?

“We are taking this measure for the security of our 92 million customers at Globe and 66 million more using GCash as we note how the modus operandi of fraudsters are becoming even more sophisticated. We hope this would make a major dent on various spam and scam SMS rackets,” Bonifacio said.

As of July, Globe has blocked more than 784 million text scams, protecting users from falling for fraudulent activities that mostly dupe them into giving up their bank details.?

Accordingly, Globe has spent at least $20 million (at least P1.1 billion) in capital expenditures for security upgrades, mainly for the detection of text scams coming from international and local sources.

Multi-pronged approach

Smart, meanwhile, said it decided to forego blocking all clickable links in text messages and would instead employ a multi-pronged strategy against smishing.

“We believe that smishing is best fought with nuance, by wielding a scalpel and not an axe. We are taking a multi-pronged approach on targeted smishing," said Leah Jimenez, chief data privacy officer of PLDT and Smart.

Angel Redoble, the company’s first vice president and chief information security officer, added that Smart continues to put in place controls to enable it to respond to smishing more effectively. 

"SMS sent via our SMS broadcast service can no longer contain URL shorteners that have been shown to be used by SMS spammers. More importantly, we have not hesitated in suspending access to our network of aggregator-clients that have been involved in sending out smishing. We also continue to cooperate in the ongoing government investigations,” he said.

“We comply with the orders of our regulators for information on smishing activities. We have met with law enforcement officials to strategize on how to apprehend the perpetrators of these SMS scams. We still have our public awareness initiatives to educate the public on how best to protect themselves against SMS-related frauds" he added.

While the Smart has been tough against perpetrators, Jimenez stressed that it “has not lost sight of the need to protect our customers' right to privacy and the freedom to communicate.”

Gabriela hits mandatory SIM registration??

For Gabriela party-list group, the SIM Registration Bill will not end the proliferation of text scams, but prove to endanger the Filipinos’ right to privacy.

In a statement, Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas said the impending approval of the measure is a “serious threat to the already poor status of data privacy and communication in the Philippines.”

Brosas noted the bill “puts forward a lopsided presumption that all Filipinos are considered as potential criminals and evading the law unless registered as SIM card holders.”

“There is no assurance that when SIM cards are registered, it will stop the circulation of spam messages and trolls. In real life, big personalities will only benefit from this,” she added.

The lawmaker warned that all personal information of those who registered their SIM cards will be forwarded to the public telecommunications entity, making their private data even more vulnerable to cyber attacks, spams, and scams.

“If now you are receiving so many spam and scam messages, this will worsen if all information of SIM card holders are uploaded in a database,” she said.

Brosas expressed concern that state security forces have been using the registered personal information of government critics for state surveillance and targeted attacks. ?

“We cannot entrust our data to state security forces notorious for using critics’ personal information to harass and vilify them. We call on the Marcos Jr. administration to veto the bill and uphold the Filipinos’ right to communication,” she said. – With additional reports from Sheila Crisostomo