Globe Telecom Inc. said Monday it blocked more than 270.5 million messages in September after implementing a new measure against person-to-person messages with clickable links.
“Our data shows that we have been blocking record numbers of spam and scam messages through our intensified efforts, most recently unleashing our stringent measure against SMS with clickable links,” Globe chief information security officer Anton Bonifacio said.
“This shows our efforts have been paying off as we prepare for the full implementation of the SIM Registration Act, which was envisioned to give government and industry players a leg up in the fight against fraudsters,” he said.
Globe blocked 1.3 billion messages in the first nine months, exceeding last year’s full target of 1.15 billion. The monthly total of blocked SMS also saw a staggering 295.74 percent rise over the past nine months, from 68.34 million in January to 270.5 million in September.
The October figure may reach millions again as Globe started a new measure against spam and scam messages in the last week of September, the company said.
Under the unprecedented new security measure, all person-to-person SMS with clickable links from all networks are blocked. Fraudsters were noticeably crafting spam and scam SMS in new ways to circumvent the new measure, Globe said.
The total figure from January to September also included 49.3 million scam and spam messages related to banks and financial institutions. Globe said it nurtured partnerships with banks on data sharing to intensify parallel efforts against fraud.
Globe invested heavily in capital expenditures and man hours in the fight against spam and scam messages. The company said it spent $20 million or P1.1 billion to boost its capabilities in detecting and blocking scam and spam messages of international and domestic sources, including app-to-person and person-to-person SMS.
