New scam alert: Fake NTC official extorts money via phone calls

If you got a phone call from an “official” of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to tell you that your mobile number is involved in some illegal activities, better hang up. It’s a scam!

Globe Telecom Inc., in an advisory on Monday, warned against fraudsters who are pretending to be NTC officials but are only out to steal money from unsuspecting victims.

These scammers call potential victims and threaten them with arrest if they do not pay up. Simply put, it is an extortion.

“Criminals prey on our natural respect for authority, using it as a weapon to deceive and manipulate. This is what we see in this new scam modus, where fraudsters pretend to be NTC officials,” Globe chief information security officer Anton Bonifacio said.

Such a scam raises the need for the public to become more vigilant to avoid becoming a victim, the telco giant reminded mobile users.

Globe told the public to be wary of unsolicited calls, especially if these are not registered in their phone logs.

If a person picks up such a call, the telco firm stressed they should never share personal information like bank account details even if the caller claims to be a member of a legitimate organization.

“If you are unsure about the legitimacy of a call, hang up the phone and call the organization directly using a phone number you know is correct,” Globe said.

READ: New SMS scams with unclickable links identified

The Ayala-led company also advised the public to report suspicious calls to the authorities.

Smart Communications Inc. also previously warned against this kind of phishing attack, which is called “vishing”—a portmanteau of words “voice” and “phishing.”

Some scammers also pretend as bank agents in order to trick users into giving out their bank log-in details, account numbers, and credit card numbers.

The unsuspecting victims may be deceived because the scammers address them through their names to “sound legitimate,” Smart noted.

The Pangilinan-led company explained these scammers “induce panic” by convincing them their account will be closed or suspended if they do not provide the necessary bank details.

Other scammers likewise tell the potential victims that their accounts have been chosen for free credit card upgrade so they can steal personal information—and then siphon out money from their financial accounts.

Globe and Smart said they are working with the NTC and banking institutions to prevent the further proliferation of these scams.

They also said they are actively foiling spam messages and deactivating SIM (subscriber identity module) cards linked to fraudulent activities.

READ: Public warned vs. ‘vishing’ as 9 scammers nabbed in Cavite

Globe, in a recent report, said they blocked about 240 million spam text messages in the second quarter—a 79 percent decline from the more than 1 billion in the same period a year ago and a 35-percent decrease from the previous quarter.

The Ayala-led telco player also deactivated 504 SIM cards in the second quarter, lower by 88 percent from over 4,000 a year ago.

While there is a decline in numbers, cybersecurity experts previously said that scammers were also launching attacks via online messaging platforms to evade detection.

Smart, meanwhile, recently activated a new network firewall that has the capability to block as many as 30 million malicious texts in one day.

In relation to this, a recent study by mobile security company Appdome showed that Filipinos are becoming increasingly receptive of mobile protection.

Amid the the onslaught of cyberattacks, 87.5 percent of the respondents are demanding brands to proactively block mobile fraud as a safety measure.

Almost all respondents, or about 97.5 percent, also want total mobile protection in mobile apps covering account login and data storage, among others.

The study noted that about 36.4 percent of the respondents said they had encountered social engineering schemes or text scams.