Globe Telecom is urgently collaborating with the government to stop the importation of international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) catchers, which are gaining popularity among fraudsters seeking to evade an industry-wide crackdown on text scams.
The device, which can mimic a cell tower, is used by scammers for spoofing or sending malicious texts to SIMs in a specific area, disguising them as legitimate sender IDs.
“We are working with the government to prevent the importation and use of IMSI catchers, which are the primary tools enabling these security breaches,” Globe general counsel Atty. Froilan Castelo said in a statement.
“We need more robust enforcement of the law concerning spoofing and the proliferation of this illegal equipment,” he added.
Big picture
Globe said spoofing activities were on the rise as it tightened the noose on scam and spam text messages through stricter blocking filters.
The telco giant also stopped using clickable links in its official customer advisories to help mobile users more easily distinguish between legitimate and spoofed messages.
Rampant importation
According to Globe, IMSI devices are imported to the Philippines either fully assembled or in parts.
These are small enough so they can be carried on foot or inside vehicles to force SIMs in a certain area to downgrade to 2G. This allows fraudsters to send malicious messages that appear legitimate from their fake cell tower.
Public awareness
Globe issued the statement to raise awareness on these activities and to be vigilant against scam tactics.
“We once again call on our customers to be very careful when you receive unsolicited messages,” said Anton Bonifacio, chief information security officer at Globe.
“Do not fall for messages that entice you with offers that are too good to be true. Never click on [text message] links or share your personal information on unverified platforms,” he added.
Miguel R. Camus has been a reporter covering various domestic business topics since 2009.
