“Globe attributes the 85% decline in spam and scam text messages to its strong partnerships with banks and financial institutions. During the first three quarters of 2023, the telecommunications company blocked over 7 million bank-related malicious messages, significantly lower than the 49.3 million in the same period in 2022.
“This progress underscores the impact of our joint initiatives in safeguarding consumers against financial fraud,” said Anton Bonifacio, chief information security officer Officer at Globe.
As scams and spam texts skyrocketed during the pandemic, the company forged anti-fraud pacts and engaged in data and intelligence-sharing with the Bankers Association of the Philippines, including 45 major banks and individual players in the finance sector.
Globe reiterates warning vs spam, scam messages
Globe blocks 2.2 billion spam, scam texts in first half of 2023
Globe noted the absence of a state-sanctioned shared responsibility framework in the Philippines, which could have further improved consumer protection. Citing Singapore as an example, the company highlighted its consultation paper, comprehensively detailing the obligations of financial institutions and telcos in cases of unauthorized or incorrect payment transactions.
Investments and initiatives
To compensate for the lack of a similar framework, Globe initiated security investments and launched channels to streamline reporting for spam and scam SMS, both internally and externally.
It has spent about $20 million to enhance its spam and scam SMS detection and blocking system, with a round-the-clock Security Operations Center filtering out unwanted messages, including app-to-person and person-to-person SMS from international and domestic sources.
“Despite current limitations, we are doing our best to protect our customers, leveraging the latest technology and partnerships with other stakeholders to combat fraud,” Bonifacio said. “The fight against fraud needs everyone’s support as it affects us all, and we look forward to working with the government more closely to strengthen our campaign.”