INQUIRER file photo
MANILA, Philippines — Scammers are illegally importing equipment to send fake messages to cellular phone users, a telecommunications security officer said on Wednesday.
According to Globe Telecom Chief Information Security Officer Anton Bonifacio, scammers usually either buy this equipment as a whole or purchase parts from overseas that they can assemble.
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“Ang problema po ang mga ganyang equipment, is either one, nabibili po. Marami po, nai-import illegally from China. So ‘yan yung mga mukhang generator,” Bonifacio said in a radio interview in Radyo 630.
(The problem with that equipment is that either one, the scammers, buy it. Many of them can be imported illegally from China. These are the ones that look like generators.)
“Kung hindi man po, illegal importation. Ang nangyayari po, actually po, pwede po nilang i-assemble eh,” he revealed.
(Another way is illegal importation. What actually happens is they can assemble the equipment themselves.)
“Pwede po silang bumili ng mga parts mula sa US or mula din sa China. Tapos, nabubuo po nila ‘yan, ‘Pag na-assemble po nila ‘yong fake cell tower na ‘yon, ‘yon na po,” he explained.
(They can buy parts from the United States or from China. Afterwards, they can put the parts together. Once they have assembled the fake cell tower, that’s it.)
Bonifacio previously said the scammers use a device called an international mobile subscriber identity catcher, which can impersonate entities, send scam messages over a certain area, and bypass Globe scam filters.
The official made the statements as an advisory against a new scam called spoofing, where scammers will impersonate seemingly legitimate companies, such as telecommunications firms, and proceed to send fake links that can extract information or money from users.
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Globe then reminded its customers that they should not indiscriminately click on links that they receive through text messages since these links can potentially harm their privacy.
“So, kung makatanggap po kayo ng message na sabi Globe pero meron pong link, sinasabi po, ‘Punta ka sa website na ito. Click mo ito, makakakuha ka ng premyo,’ hindi na po totoo ‘yon,” he added.
(If you receive a message that seems to be from Globe, but there’s a link, and it says, ‘Go to this website. Click this, you’ll get a prize,’ that’s fake.)