The combined powers of one of the country’s biggest telecommunications companies, PLDT, and its subsidiary, Smart, have resulted in the banning of as many as 650 websites said to be associated with text scams, particularly smishing—all within the first six months of 2022.
Per PLDT’s first Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer Angel Redoble, the effort serves as an added layer of protection for unwitting customers who may be a target of scams.
Smishing specifically refers to the text messages disseminated over a network with the intent of deceiving the targeted recipients by masquerading as legit institutions, such as banks, tour operators, or recruitment agencies, to reveal personal and sensitive info.
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Unknown to the average internet user, the internet has multiple layers which Smart’s Cybersecurity Operations Group (COG) explains as comprised of three, warning also that the deeper layers pose greater risks.
In particular, pointing to both the deep web and the dark web, which are accessible mainly to select people and where illegal activities take place online, like money laundering.
As part of their initiative to combat fraud, PLDT and Smart invested a total of Php3 billion, in 2021, to bolster the two companies’ cybersecurity infrastructure.