Gogolook, the company behind Whoscall, a leading caller ID and spam detection app, and the Cyber Battalion Army Signal Regiment (ASR) of the Philippine Army announced that they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) as of November 2023 to further protect the Filipino people from scam threats.
This is the second MOU that Gogolook has signed with the public sector, following suit from its signed agreement with the Department of Information and Communications Technology’s (DICT) Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) in September. Alongside its continuous development of Whoscall features, such as the most recent addition of a much-needed WhatsApp Caller ID in the Philippines, Gogolook and Whoscall is proving its utility to protect Filipinos and fight scams.
The MOU between Gogolook and the Cyber Battalion will enable the two parties to work together in furthering education and use of the Whoscall caller ID application as a protective tool to help combat the proliferation of scam calls and messages that has been a country-wide concern. Additionally, the MOU will grant the Cyber Battalion membership into the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA), a privilege that comes from Gogolook being one of the leading foundation partners of the international organization that aims to help consumers avoid scams across the globe.
“This memorandum of understanding with the Philippine Army’s Cyber Battalion is another strong effort to show that various institutions of the public sector in the country is serious about information security and protecting the Filipino people through various technologies as scam tactics change,” said Mel Migrino, Philippines Country Representative and Regional Director for Information Security and Regulatory Alliance at Gogolook. “We are confident that this partnership will help us further the adoption and use of Whoscall to help protect Filipinos from scam calls and messages, and we are grateful for the opportunity to work with the Cyber Battalion in achieving this goal.”
“The MOU between Cyber Battalion and Gogolook is a significant milestone,” said the commanding officer of the Cyber Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Rod Quinto. “It reflects Cyber Battalion’s determination to fight against scams, including terminating the people behind these fraudulent activities. Not only that, aside from unit personnel being protected from scams, this collaboration with Gogolook will also have a direct impact on the accomplishment of the unit mission by increasing the cybersecurity protection of the nation.”
Meanwhile, Deputy Regiment Commander of the Army Signal Regiment (ASR) Colonel Joey Fontiveros added, “the partnership forged between Cyber Battalion, ASR, of the Philippine Army and Gogolook is a synergetic approach in combating fraud and scam; with Gogolook and its platform and technology alongside the Cyber Battalion with its strong cybersecurity mechanisms, scammers, fraudster and cyber criminals can be put to light for judgment.” Colonel Fontiveros added, “We are confident that the Whoscall app will be a valuable asset to our efforts in combating scam calls and messages, and we are grateful to Gogolook for their partnership.”
The memorandum of understanding is sealed with the signatures of Manwoo Joo, COO of Gogolook and Lt. Col. Rod Quinto, Commanding Officer of the Cyber Battalion, ASR, Philippine Army, while Col. Joey Fontiveros, Deputy Regiment Commander, ASR, Philippine Army and Philippine Country Representative and Regional Director for Information Security and Regulatory Alliance Mel Migrino served as signed witnesses.
The signing of the MOU between Gogolook and the Cyber Battalion is a great example of how partnerships between the public and private sectors can be effective in combating scam calls and messages. By working together, the two organizations can reach a wider audience and provide more comprehensive protection to Filipinos. It also shows that both the public and private sectors are committed to working together to protect Filipinos from these threats.