Smart Communications Inc. on Wednesday bared blocking over 13 million spam text messages and blacklisted nearly 200,000 mobile numbers linked to phishing activities in the first quarter of 2024.
This initiative coincides with the Philippine National Police (PNP) warning the general public against hijacked profile scams.
“Data is the new oil. Cyber criminals steal personal information to defraud you or use your identity to victimize people close to you. Guard your data. Don’t share it with people you don’t know,” Joseph Ian Gendrano, senior vice president and chief Information security officer at PLDT and Smart, said.
Hijacked profiles happen when a hacker gains unauthorized access to someone’s social media account. In certain cases, the victims are locked out of their own account. The offender then messages the victim’s contacts to ask for money, usually under the guise of a sickness or an unfortunate life event.
To further keep customers safe from fraudulent activities, Smart is reminding the public to be wary of clicking dubious links on SMS or emails from unknown persons
“Phishing is the most common technique employed by bad actors to trick you into revealing your data. Don’t go on autopilot mode and click or tap links,” Elijah Mendoza, digital communications senior manager at Smart said.
To avoid getting baited by phishing messages, Smart urged its subscribers to avoid opening suspicious emails or links and logging in to unfamiliar websites.
Smart also said consumers should check grammar and branding knowledge as phishing messages are often composed of ill-formed sentences with bad grammar.
