MANILA - Lazada Philippines on Wednesday warned Filipinos against the recent surge in SMS phishing scams which involve impersonating its officials to offer promotions or job opportunities.

Lazada "will never send messages via text/SMS, instant messaging or social media apps requesting your personal or Lazada account details," it said in a statement.

Users are advised to communicate directly with the platform through the Lazada app, website, or official channels, it said.

"Lazada would like to call the public’s attention to recent scams in the form of text/SMS messages. These scams attempt to pass themselves off as official Lazada communication or impersonate Lazada personnel, enticing customers to participate in fake promotions or raffles or respond to job opportunities," it said.

"We would like to remind the public that Lazada will never send messages via text/SMS, instant messaging or social media apps requesting your personal or Lazada account details," it added.

A sample of an SMS pretending to be from Lazada pic.twitter.com/682JArykrd

— Jessica Fenol (@JessFenol) November 24, 2021

The e-commerce platform said it is working with telecommunications partners and local law enforcement agencies to curb the spread of SMS-based fraudulent activities.

Telcos Globe Telecom and PLDT Inc's Smart Communications have said they have been blocking messages and numbers linked to these SMS phishing attempts.

The National Privacy Commission said a global organized syndicate could be behind the recent surge in SMS scams due to its scale and reach which involves thousands of Filipinos.

• Privacy watchdog summons telcos, banks, e-commerce platforms over SMS spam
• Some spam messages sent via int’l sources impossible to track, Globe says
• Smart says 'organized global syndicate' could be behind SMS spam

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