Globe removes clickable links from messages sent to customers

Globe Telecom Inc. said on Wednesday that it has removed all clickable links from messages it sends to its customers, following spoofing reports where its channels are being impersonated by scammers.

In a virtual briefing, Globe consumer mobile business head Darius Delgado said the move was in response to reports that customers in Metro Manila areas have been receiving spoofed messages supposedly from 8080 or Globe that make it hard to discern between legitimate and scam messages.

“Since last week, we have been removing all clickable links across messages we send to our customers, so that they are able to identify which messages are legit and which ones are spoofed… If there’s a clickable link, that’s not legit,” he said.

“This way, our customers will be protected as their security and safety are very important to us because we want our brands in the market to be the most trustworthy ones,” he added.

Delgado said the scheme uses illegal equipment called the international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) catcher or fake cell towers or base stations, which force phones to downgrade to 2G.

Once the phones are connected to the fake cell towers, users will then be sent SMS from any spoofed number of the sender ID without passing through Globe’s anti-spam filters.

“IMSI catchers are actually an emerging global threat with reported incidents around the world, and we have been working with partners to deliver a solution to this problem and, at the same time, collaborating with law enforcement agencies today to catch these culprits,” Delgado said.

The latest scheme comes after the government passed the SIM Card Registration Act, which mandated all public telecommunications entities (PTEs) to establish their respective registration platforms and enroll users who present valid identification cards.

Users were given until July 25, 2023, to register their SIMs, or else face the risk of having these deactivated.

The implementing rules and regulations of the SIM Card Registration Act took effect on December 27, 2022, after the measure was signed by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in October 2022. —VBL, GMA Integrated News