Globe to verify identity of 61 million users

[Lee]

When you institute a new program to help eliminate spam and afterward find that the problem has now doubled suggests that your program is a failure. No one anticipated that spammers would use fake IDs or pay for legit SIM cards so as to continue to spam away?

Quote

 

MANILA, Philippines — Globe Telecom Inc. has initiated the authentication of each and every subscriber identity module (SIM) in its network to weed out mobile numbers involved in fraudulent activities.

To fight bad actors, Globe is tightening its verification process for SIM card registration.

Globe chief information security officer Anton Bonifacio admitted that spam messages continue to bug subscribers, acknowledging that fraudsters find ways to carry out malicious activities even with SIM card registration in place.

As such, Bonifacio said Globe would embark on an internal assessment to determine the bad actors in its network. This effort will require Globe to verify the identity of its more than 61 million customers.

Bonifacio said that criminals register their SIM cards nowadays using false identities to circumvent the security systems put up by telcos. Likewise, he said there exists a black market for the sale of legitimate SIM cards, which fraudsters repurpose for malicious activities.

With this, Globe is cautious that even legitimate SIM cards are being used to trick people into giving up their sensitive information like bank details.

“These scam messages that continue to spread could be from SIM cards obtained in the black market with false identities or legitimate SIMs used as mules,” Bonifacio said.

“There is a market for selling or loaning legitimately registered SIMs that could be used as mules in criminal activities, and our hope is that with the validation process of SIM registration data through our upgraded platform, we will be able to deactivate these scam-linked SIMs,” he said.

Data showed that the number of spam texts in circulation doubled in 2023 even with the mandate to register each and every SIM. The number of spam messages blocked by Globe jumped to 5.48 billion from 2.7 billion in 2022, proof that scammers find means to evade the law.

Right now, Globe is working on improving its SIM registration platform to lessen the prevalence of online fraud. The telco said that it can now verify personal data in as fast as 24 hours.

In 2023 Globe also blacklisted a total of 220,669 SIM cards, the bulk of which came from competitor networks, for their involvement in the distribution of spam texts.

The telco operates an anti-fraud system called StopSpam where customers may report unsolicited texts for possible deactivation.

 

Globe to verify identity of 61 million users (msn.com)

[scott h]

2 hours ago, Lee said:

No one anticipated

I did! 

I called this long long ago. You just know that all a crook has to do it walk down any street, hand over 100 peso to a guy sitting on his pedicab and say. "here hold your ID up and I will take a pic of you".

BTW?? 

2 hours ago, Lee said:

The number of spam messages blocked by Globe jumped to 5.48 billion

With that many spam messages, where is the prosecution?  Has anyone heard of a case being filed in the year that this "law" has been enforced?

 

[Gator]

It’s likely that many of the scammers are using VOIP numbers generated via a computer. And it’s also likely many of them aren’t even in the Phils, but in other countries like North Korea, Nigeria, Russia and China, which are known for phone and email scams.

Reporting them to the NTC or respective carriers doesn’t seem to help. NTC has a website to report them, but it requires a screen shot of the text msg and a lot of personal info. Smart requires you to send an email and I think it’s the same with Globe. A bit of a hassle to report them. If they made it easier, I’m sure many more ppl would do so. But as @scott h pointed out - where is the prosecution? 

Since the gov and telcos here seemingly do nothing, I’m sure most ppl, myself included, simply block and delete the scammers. 

[hk blues]

How will they verify the identity, and why weren't they doing this in the 1st place?

[Lee]

Perhaps this program to identify spammers was nothing but a personal information grab from the start. 

Millions of Filipinos info was vacuumed up so as they could continue to use Globe products. How is this data being stored or protected?

If a person could enroll in the program using a picture of their pet----how serious was this program to be taken in the first place? 

Perhaps this is just all political lip service paid to a problem of little real importance. IDK

Edited January 16 by Lee
clarification

[hk blues]

1 hour ago, Lee said:

Perhaps this program to identify spammers was nothing but a personal information grab from the start. 

Millions of Filipinos info was vacuumed up so as they could continue to use Globe products. How is this data being stored or protected?

If a person could enroll in the program using a picture of their pet----how serious was this program to be taken in the first place? 

Perhaps this is just all political lip service paid to problem of little real importance. IDK

I'm less prone to be suspicious of everything but I suspect it's no more than an ill-conceived idea which was subsequently poorly planned and implemented.  The theory behind it is OK only superficially but doesn't stand up to any level of scrutiny as being fit for the purpose. 

[Mike J]

14 hours ago, hk blues said:

I'm less prone to be suspicious of everything but I suspect it's no more than an ill-conceived idea which was subsequently poorly planned and implemented.  The theory behind it is OK only superficially but doesn't stand up to any level of scrutiny as being fit for the purpose. 

When I wrote computer applications people/departments had a tendency to tell me what they "wanted" a program to do.  I would nod my head and move the conversation around to "tell me what you "need" the program for, what is the "purpose".  I would then sit at desks and watch what how data was entered, looked up, processed, etc.

I think this fiasco resulted because politicians told Globe and Smart what they "had to do".  When a program is implemented based on "wants" it often will often fail to satisfy the "needs".   Glove and Smart did what they were told, it is the politicians who gave them direction are at fault.   Users need a quick and efficient way to report spam to Globe and Smart.  When X number of complaints arrive the process needs to automatically block any calls from the number.  The value of X is a variable and could be adjusted.  In addition to being permanently blocked, that number could be forwarded to a government enforcement agency.   The "well funded' agency would likely take no action.   

Not rocket science, just common sense. 

[usa32]

Thought this was sorta stupid when they come up with it. And has lots of holes. I had no problem, showing my passport to get my sim card. 

But I have no idea what this law really accomplishes accept more bs. I seriously doubt the intention of the law was to prevent spam. Must be more.

When I'm in the Philippines I get way less spam than I do in the usa. Virtually none

[scott h]

3 hours ago, usa32 said:

But I have no idea

You have to remember that the law did not cost the Government anything, the providers had to foot the bill to develop the systems and run the webpages for registration.

Just another unfunded mandate footed by the private sector so the congress critters could look good making press statements.

[Gator]

4 hours ago, usa32 said:

.When I'm in the Philippines I get way less spam than I do in the usa. Virtually none

Same here. About the only spam message I get on a fairly consistent basis (maybe once or twice a week) is one that’s supposedly from BDO bank. I neither have nor have ever had a bank account with them, so I know it’s a phishing attempt.

In fact I got one last night: