Alarmed at the upsurge of fake job text scams, the National Telecommunications Commission has ordered the country’s biggest telecommucations firms to warn their subcribers not to be fooled by the fraudulent scheme.
In a memo sent by the NTC for the second straight week to DITO Telecommunity Corp., Globe Telecoms Inc and Smart Communications, the telcos were requested to, in the interest of public service, text blast their subscribers from June 11 to 17, 2022 the following message: “BABALA HUWAG PONG MANIWALA SA TEXT NA NAG-AALOK NG TRABAHO NA MAY PANGAKO NA MALAKING SWELDO. ITO PO AY ISANG SCAM.”
“The proliferation of fake job text scams has continued and even intensified over the past month across telecommunications networks in the country, to the detriment of the public,” said NTC commissioner Gamaliel A. Cordoba, who also directed the telcos to accelerate the process of blocking SIM cards that are being utilized to perpetrate these fraudulent activities.
The telcos were also ordered to further increase their respective public information campaigns to widen awareness on this issue. “You (telcos) are hereby directed to submit a written report of compliance to the Office of the Commissioner on or before June 20, 2022 thru email commissioner@ntc.gov.ph,” said Cordoba.
At the same time, Cordoba also ordered the commission’s own Regional Directors and Officers-in-Charge to appear before local radio and television stations to warn the public against text scams from June 11 to 17, 2022.
The regional NTC officers were likewise required to report their compliance with the order to the Office of the Commissioner on or before June 20, 2022.
Vigilence of the public on the spam text messages is key, according to the NTC, reiterating its earlier call to phone users to refuse providing personal information to strangers, decline survey questions from unknown senders and ignore dubious websites.
Only last week and in November last year, the NTC issued the same call to the telcos to text blast subscribers not to fall for scams that offer them jobs as the commission has been alarmed of the modus by unscrupulous individuals for it involves privacy issues or breach of customer’s personal data.