A group composed of the country’s largest telcos is warning the public of a new wave of messaging scams that could bypass the filtering systems that have been set up.
The Philippine Chamber of Telecommunication Operators (PCTO) urged industry players and state regulators to work together in stopping new fraud activities, saying cyber criminals have found a way to circumvent the online walls put up to prevent text scams from circulating within their networks.
PCTO president and Globe general counsel Froilan Castelo said cybercriminals now send out messaging scams through chat apps and over-the-top channels that are no longer within the bounds of telco filters. They usually use foreign SIMs to avoid detection by public and private monitors in the country.
Additionally, he warned of the growing use of fake cell towers that target subscribers in a particular area, where cybercriminals intercept cellular signals to connect to mobile numbers, giving them the window to send out text scams.
The PCTO has also noticed a rise in spoofing, where fraudsters imitate the advisories and messages of reputable sources like banks and e-wallets to capture sensitive personal information and financial details.
While telcos are constantly finding ways to combat methods of digital fraud, Castelo reminded consumers that they are the first line of defense, as they can choose to weaken the fraud market by ignoring unsolicited messages. “Be vigilant and be discerning against messages from unknown numbers, and never click on any link inside unsolicited messages [because] more often than not, these are meant to defraud you,” he said.
To be fair to telcos and government, they are trying as hard as they can to stop scammers whose strategies are constantly evolving. Despite that, the consumers and end users will also have to remain vigilant, especially since they are the ultimate targets and will be the ones who will suffer the most from successful attacks. Resisting the temptation to baited into scams will also depend on us.*
