Globe Telecom advises its users to redeem rewards on the GlobeOne app and warns them against scam SMS sent out by fraudsters through spoofing.
According to Globe, these text messages come with links directing customers to click to redeem Globe Rewards.
Customers have reported they received spoofed messages mimicking Globe's sender ID, inviting them to click suspicious links supposedly to claim their Globe Rewards. The purpose of these malicious links is to steal personal data, such as credit card details.
Evidently, fraudsters are taking advantage of Globe's urgency for customers to redeem their Rewards prior to their expiration on March 31, 2024.
Globe noted that all their official text messages do not contain links or URLs.
Also read:
Darius Delgado, Globe Vice President and Head of Consumer Mobile Business, said:
We call on our customers to please never click on links in SMS pretending to be from Globe. Any text message containing a link from [the] supposed sender ID "Globe" is a fraudulent message done via spoofing. Globe will never send an official advisory with links. Do not fall for enticing offers in these scam messages.
Delgado reminded customers that Globe Rewards may only be claimed through one platform: the GlobeOne app.
Delgado added:
Globe Rewards points may only be redeemed via the GlobeOne app. We'd like to encourage our customers to use this official platform, as this is the only place where they can claim rewards.
Globe said that "spoofed messages are malicious SMS sent out via illegal equipment called the international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) catcher or a fake cell tower or base station, which captures mobile users within a limited radius."
Globe further detailed how fraudsters do this fake SMS: "Brought around or foot or inside a vehicle, the IMSI catcher forces phones within a certain area to downgrade to 2G, the old cellular network technology for voice calls and texts. Fraudsters can then send out SMS from any spoofed or impersonated number or sender ID, such as 'Globe,' to mobile phones connected to this fake cell tower."
According to Globe, these text messages manage to bypass its network and evade its spam filters, going undetected.
After strengthening its security measures to filter out spam and scam SMS, Globe has observed an increase in spoofing and other forms of text scams. These scams are often carried out through over-the-top (OTT) services or chat apps that are not under the control of telcos.
In September of 2022, Globe became the pioneering telecommunications company in the Philippines to prohibit all person-to-person messages containing links from its network. Additionally, stricter policies were enforced regarding the sources or sender IDs that are permitted to send app-to-person messages containing links.
Globe, which implemented aggressive filters that operated round the clock, successfully blocked 5.48 billion spam and scam messages in 2023, which is double the quantity it blocked in 2022.
All of these security measures by Globe made it harder for scammers to use SMS messages to trick people, so they had to come up with new ways to do their illegal business.
Anton Bonifacio, Globe's Chief Information Security Officer, said:
As we continue to enhance our security measures to protect our customers and our network, scammers will keep finding new ways to defraud mobile users, which are often outside Globe's control. We need the help of our customers to be proactive in protecting themselves as Globe does not have control over a lot of content that reaches them, such as texts from spoofed SMS and from chat apps, and unconfirmed information they get on social media. Please be discerning.
Globe urges its subscribers to report suspicious SMS through its Stop Spam portal (https://ift.tt/XPgDEkq).
0 Comments