Phishing attempts up ahead of SIM registration deadline

MANILA  -With less than two months left before the SIM (subscriber identity module) card registration deadline, Globe Telecom Inc. warned anew against phishing attempts related to the mandatory listup.

The Ayala-led company, in a statement on Friday, said that cyberhackers were sending out phishing emails and pretending to be a company official offering SIM registration assistance to subscribers.

In the emails, the hackers were claiming the subscribers’ attempt to register their SIM cards were “unsuccessful.” Unsuspecting victims will then be instructed to click on malicious links designed to trick them into giving out their personal information.

“We’ve become aware of such deceptive communications and we strongly advise our customers to ignore and block these messages, which are a malicious misuse of the new SIM Registration Act,” said Anton Bonifacio, chief information security officer of Globe.

The Globe official, as such, reminded subscribers to only register their SIM cards via official platforms.

“These are our only accredited channels for SIM registration. If you receive any message related to SIM registration, always verify its origin and refrain from clicking any suspicious links,” he explained.

Last month, Globe teamed up with financial technology player Home Credit Philippines to beef up initiatives against financial scams.

Under the partnership, the listed telco giant and consumer finance firm will share relevant information and join forces in probing fraud cases.

Globe earlier partnered with financial institutions to combat the increasing volume of financial crimes, identity theft, phishing and spam. INQ