Smart supports govt's war vs SMS spamming

The government's decision to launch a probe into the proliferation of spam text messages received backing from telco giant Smart Communications.

Smart Communications

Smart backs regulators vs text fraud

In a statement, the PLDT's wireless arm expressed its support to government agencies move to stamp out SMS spamming.

The investigation is being led by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), the National Privacy Commission (NPC), and the Department of Trade and Industry.

We are one with the NTC, the NPC, and the DTI, and the rest of the concerned government agencies in protecting our customers from this scam developed by unscrupulous individuals, PLDT and Smart President and CEO Al Panlilio said.

From October 21 to November 20, Smart said it already blocked an average of 400 to 500 mobile numbers a day, found to be involved in SMS hoax and spam. The company has been also targeting domains and IP addresses used by online scammers.

According to Smart, the current surge in SMS spam includes the scheme where mobile users receive unsolicited but enticing messages from strange numbers, which then lead to an elaborate online phishing scam where the target mobile users end up falling victims to fraud.

As we work tirelessly to ensure the integrity of our own cybersecurity systems, we also encourage our customers to be extremely vigilant and to be on the lookout for these SMS spamming accounts so that we can work with the authorities to prevent these scams and eventually stop these cybercriminals, Panlilio said.

Smart said it has launched an awareness campaign through social media platforms to make more subscribers aware of the spam text messages.