Globe Telecom revealed a watchlist to help you recognize and prevent spoofing attempts, aiming to keep you informed and secure.
These are three indicators to help you identify fraudulent activities:
- Your mobile signal downgrades to 2G/EDGE.
- You received a text message from a known sender ID with suspicious offers and garbled links.
- You lose access to mobile internet data.
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According to Globe, spoofing has become more prevalent in recent months. This is a type of scam where fraudsters claim to be a trusted brand and send you an SMS with sensitive information they want to get from you without you knowing. Check out more details below.
What is SMS Spoofing?
Spoofing uses a sneaky device called an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) catcher or fake base station to trick mobile users within a 2-kilometer range. This tool can be carried around or attached to vehicles. The IMSI catcher uses their fake network to downgrade your signal to 2G. This lets scammers send you messages that appear to be from reputable brands but are, in fact, fraudulent.
3 Signs to Spot That You Are Being Spoofed
Here are three clear signs that will help you spot these spoofing attempts right away. Pay close attention because these happen in a flash:
#1. Your mobile signal downgrades to 2G/EDGE.
Did your phone suddenly switch back to 2G or EDGE? If your phone's signal suddenly drops to a 2G or EDGE network in a place where you are normally on 4G or LTE, this is a bad sign. That is a typical sign that an IMSI catcher could be nearby. If you get an unwanted message right after you notice that your signal has been dropped, be careful.
#2. You received a text message from a known sender ID with suspicious offers and garbled links.
Did you get a text message from a sender ID that looked like it was real but had a questionable offer in it, like a tempting prize or a scary warning with a garbled link? Fraudsters have been using sender IDs that look like those of well-known companies like Globe and banks to send fake SMS. These often have links to pages where your information will be illegally collected with business names that are misspelt or broken up (For example, www.gl0be.ph or www.glo.be.ph). Don't forget that Globe will never send clickable links (URLs) in its official customer SMS advisories.
#3. You lose access to mobile internet data.
Since SMS spoofing works in 2G, once you are targeted, you will not be able to use the internet or other data services. If all of a sudden you can't access your data services and you start getting strange or sketchy text messages, you should be concerned. It's possible that this is a spoofing strike.
Globe reminds users to stay vigilant against SMS spoofing
According to Globe, spoofed messages evade its spam filters by circumventing its secure network. The telco urges its subscribers to be vigilant and protect themselves by refraining from engaging with these messages and clicking on any links.
Globe keeps up the fight against scams and is taking a number of measures to keep its customers safe. Some of these are blocking SMS with dangerous URLs and using network probes to find IMSI catchers and fake base stations.
Globe needs you to keep an eye on things. Go to the #StopSpam website (https://ift.tt/PTKMBRo) to report any message that seems suspicious. Watch out for and carefully read messages that ask for personal information or tell you to do something.
Anton Bonifacio, Globe Chief Information and Security Officer, said:
Keeping up our defenses against these scammers is a team effort, and you, our customers, are a key player. Your awareness and caution are the ace up our sleeve. We're here to keep you safe and clued in, but we need your help in protecting yourself as scammers continue to find new ways to dupe you.
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