MANILA – Globe Telecom advised its mobile customers to take precaution and not fall victim to text scams on supposed “discount”, “refund”, “prizes”, “stranded relatives” and other fraudulent claims but are actually share-a-load transactions. The campaign versus text scams is in conjunction with its intensified drive versus companies involved in text spams, the company said.
The text scams, directed mostly to postpaid customers of Globe, tricks subscribers into sending load credits through various fraudulent claims.
In the case of supposed “discount” or “refund”, Globe emphasized that legitimate advisories from the telecommunications provider are labeled from “GLOBE” and do not come from 11-digit numbers. Subscribers may validate unusual texts and calls with the company’s customer service agents, said Yoly Crisanto, Globe SVP for Corporate Communications.
A sample scam message reads as follows: “GLOBE POSTPAID: You’re the one selected postpaid plan that given 35% discount on your bill just forward this PIN 500 <space> 1212 send to 2915XXXXXXXX (ex. 5001212 send to 2915XXXXXXX).” Another example states: “Globe LTE Advisory: Your postpaid account has been charged P500 for LTE use. Is this a wrong charge? Text 500 send to 2936XXXXXXX for REFUND”.
Crisanto reminded subscribers that by adding the number “2” before the 10-digit cell phone number of the recipient, the unsuspecting subscriber would have done a Share-A-Load transaction, thus the sum of 500 pesos in the two examples above would be transferred or credited to the prepaid number to which the message was sent to.
Another text scam informs customers they supposedly won in a raffle contest they never participated in and the text message provides “steps” on how to claim the prize. Another text scam involves relatives working abroad supposedly using a new prepaid number, also aimed at tricking subscribers into doing a Share-A-Load transaction.
Globe customers are advised not to respond and, instead, immediately report suspicious text messages to authorized Globe customer service channels. Customers may report mobile numbers used in sending out fraudulent or scam text messages, Crisanto said. Globe customers may report via the Globe website through Talk2Globe Chat; send a message through Globe Contact Form and by tweeting @Talk2GLOBE on Twitter. Subscribers can put in the number, the exact message, and the time and date the fraudulent text message was received. Such numbers will be immediately disconnected from service once the company gets validation that the same are indeed used for such unscrupulous activities.
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