Globe bars nearly 30k numbers found as spam, scam sources

MANILA, Philippines – Globe Telecom Incorporated has disconnected from service close to 30,000 prepaid numbers found to be a consistent source of unsolicited promotional materials, text spams or scams.

A total of 29,347 numbers were blocked from the service since July last year, Globe Chief Information Security Officer Anton Bonifacio said.

Of the number, a total of 24,787 numbers were disconnected for sending scam messages, while 4,560 numbers were barred from using the Globe network for sending spam messages.

“Globe will never allow the use of its network by individuals who want to take advantage of our customers. As Globe steps up its campaign to purge its network of spam and scam messages, we expect this number to increase further moving forward,” Bonifacio said.

The numbers blocked from the Globe network were subject of complaints reported through http://www.globe.com.ph/stopspam, where customers provide all the details of spam and scam messages they received on their mobile devices.

“Numbers that are reported to be a constant source of spam (and scam) messages are then disconnected from service,” Globe said in a statement Wednesday, September 30.

Drive

The numbers were also identified via an automated filtering system implemented by Globe to keep its customers from receiving scam and spam messages. Globe also launched an information drive early 2014 to educate its customers on how to deal with text spams or messages.

“The telecommunications provider recently expanded the coverage of this functionality and the system now covers majority of the company’s 2.3 million postpaid customers,” Globe said.

To date, Globe already blocked a total of 30.8 million of spam and scam text messages.

The volume of messages blocked by the network filtering system averages about 90,000 a day, reaching a peak of around 200,000 in July 2015.

“Recently, bulk of spam and scam messages delivered to Globe customers originate from sim cards of competition (with prefixes 0922, 0943),” Globe said.

Mobile customers of Globe reached 48.4 million at the end of the first half, a 13% rise from 42.7 million a year earlier. – Rappler.com