Smart Communications Inc. (Smart), the wireless arm of PLDT Inc., has intensified its efforts against text scams, preventing nearly 2 billion malicious messages from reaching users in the first 10 months of the year. It has blacklisted close to a million numbers linked to scams and fraudulent activities.
“In October alone, Smart thwarted over 200 million malicious text messages and blocked more than 46,000 mobile numbers being used to scam the public,” Patrick Santos, FVP and CISO at PLDT and Smart, said in a media release. “We urge our customers to be vigilant against text messages embedded with hyperlinks as these usually lead to phishing domains.”
Scammers have increasingly turned to fake cell towers, or “rogue” devices, to push messages directly to users, bypassing telecom infrastructure. Smart has introduced a location field in its “HuliScam” anti-scam reporting portal, allowing customers to flag areas where these messages are frequently received.
Collaboration
Collaborating with the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) and the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC), Smart supports investigations and prosecutions aimed at combating SMShing.
Public awareness remains a priority through campaigns like #BeCyberSmart and #MagingCyberSmart. These initiatives simplify scam awareness using the acronym SCAM:
- Suspicious: Avoid responding to unverified numbers.
- Clickbait: Don’t click on enticing but dubious links.
- Alarming: Be cautious of messages inducing fear to extract sensitive information.
- Malicious: Beware of links that lead to phishing websites.
Subscribers are encouraged to report text scams via the HuliScam portal or Smart’s social media channels.
“Collaboration and vigilance are key to protecting users from these schemes,” Santos said.