MANILA – Globe Telecom said it has blocked more than 138 million scam related SMS from January to June 15 this year in bid to curb fraudulent activities.

In May alone, it filtered out 74.48 million unwanted messages which include app-to-person and person-to-person messages both from local and international origin, the Ayala-led telco said in a statement.

In addition, Globe said it has also deactivated about 12,877 mobile numbers from January to May due to spamming based on customer reports through its web portal.

Filipinos have been reporting an increase in fraudulent related SMS-based scam or smishing, especially during the pandemic just when digital adoption had also accelerated.

Regulators and authorities, such as the National Telecommunications Commission, are working with stakeholders to warn the public against these illegal activities.

“We cannot enable the Filipino digital lifestyle without cybersecurity. Customer protection is our top priority. So we have been investing millions of dollars on systems and processes to combat security threats even without any promise of a return on investment. After all, the biggest ROI are the peace of mind and safety of our customers,” Globe Chief Information Security Officer Anton Bonifacio said.

Earlier investigations by the NTC showed that some of these spamming practices could be part of a global organized syndicate.

Globe said it continues to invest in tools to proactively detect suspicious content on the internet. It added that reporting tools and other mechanisms were enabled for employees, customers and partners to swiftly capture concerns related to fraud.

The telco said it has security operations center that is working 24/7 to detect attacks or breaches immediately with over 100 dedicated workforce focused on cybersecurity efforts.

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