Text scam numbers disconnected

MANILA, Philippines - Close to 30,000 prepaid numbers have been disconnected by Globe Telecom Inc. for being consistent sources of spam and scam text messages.

Anton Bonifacio, Globe’s chief information security officer, said yesterday a total of 29,347 prepaid numbers have been blocked from service since July last year as part of the company’s effort to eliminate unsolicited messages.

He said 24,787 prepaid numbers were cut for sending scam messages and 4,560 were disconnected for sending spam messages.

“Globe will never allow the use of its network by individuals who want to take advantage of our customers. We expect the numbers to increase as Globe steps up its campaign to purge its network of spam and scam messages,” Bonifacio said.

The numbers were blocked from Globe network based on complaints received through http://www.globe.com.ph/stopspam.

Through the website, customers can report and provide all the details of spam and scam text messages they receive on their mobile devices.
Numbers reported to be constant sources of spam messages are disconnected from service.

The numbers are identified through an automated filtering system implemented by Globe to prevent its customers from receiving scam and spam messages.

The telecommunications provider recently expanded coverage of its filtering system, which has a majority of the company’s 2.3 million postpaid subscribers.

The firm noted that a bulk of spam and scam messages delivered to Globe subscribers were coming from SIM cards of competitors, as the numbers begin with 0922 and 0943.

Apart from disconnecting numbers, Globe’s filtering system prevents the transmittal of scam messages to mobile devices.

Globe has blocked a total of 30.8 million spam and scam text messages.

Globe’s mobile customers reached 48.4 million at the end of the first semester, up by 13 percent from 42.7 million in 2014.