AFTER the issue of alleged missing funds in their digital wallet platform, Globe Telecoms on Wednesday said that they prevented more than four million attempts to rob Filipino depositors in the first quarter of 2023 after partnering with banks and financial institutions to fight online fraud.
The latest data showed the number of malicious bank-related messages blocked by Globe reached 4.07 million from January to March this year.
The figure is 2.7 percent higher than the 3.97 million blocked in the same period last year.
“Malicious activities such as identity theft, phishing, and spam messages can severely impact consumers and major stakeholders in various industries, especially the financial sector. At Globe, we understand the importance of safeguarding our customers from these threats. Through our partnership with the banking industry, we hope to enhance our efforts in tackling cybercrime for the consumers’ safety and security,” Globe Chief Information Security Officer Anton Bonifacio said.
Globe said that they had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) last August to address the rising volume of financial crimes.
The partnership paved the way for Globe and BAP member banks to share data and intelligence for enhanced fraud detection and prevention.
Just last month, Globe also inked an agreement with the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) as part of its commitment to work with banks against online fraud.
The agreement allows both parties to have a direct and round-the-clock communication channel to report any fraudulent activity for immediate investigation and blocking.
The statement also said that over 12 months, Globe blocked 85 million bank-related spam and scam messages amid its strengthened crackdown against fraudsters.
This was part of the record-high 3 billion scam and spam messages filtered out between January 2022 and January 2023.
Aside from the partnership with banks and financial institutions, Globe said they continue to invest in tools and launching channels to streamline spam and scam SMS reporting both internally and externally.
It has invested about $20 million to step up its spam and scam SMS detection and blocking system. Its round-the-clock Security Operations Center filters out unwanted messages, including app-to-person and person-to-person SMS from international and domestic sources.
Earlier Globe said that there were no funds lost, contrary to an earlier report that some P37 million worth of transactions were allegedly foiled from suspected hackers of the GCash accounts.
Catherine R. Cueto
