New SMS scams with unclickable links identified

(INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)

MANILA, Philippines — The public is warned of a new short message service (SMS) scam that can evade automatic blocking tools by using unclickable links.

In a statement, PLDT-Smart chief information security officer Jojo Gendrano said automatic blocking tools can prevent a significant number of SMS scam messages from reaching customers but scammers continue to look for new ways to continue their phishing activities.

“They now send unclickable links, but with the same goal of luring customers into opening malicious domains,” Gendrano said.

The new SMS scams, he said, replace the dots in a link with another character to mask or conceal hyperlinks.

They will then ask potential victims to manually copy the address, place it on their browser, and replace certain characters with dots to activate the link.

“Another method is sending what may look like IP addresses but are numeric clickable links,” he said.

He asked mobile users to be “force multipliers” in the fight against SMS phishing scams or “SMShing” and other mobile technology-aided crimes by following its ‘SCAM’ tips.

‘S’ is for ‘suspicious’ or never answering calls or messages from unknown persons or entities, especially those asking for one-time passwords.

‘C’ is for ‘clickbait’ or scam texts that bait victims with too-good-to-be-true offers or prize winnings, urging them to follow a link.

‘A’ is for ‘alarming’ or scams that prod victims to respond to messages or follow links by creating a false sense of alarm such as account suspension or loss of access.

‘M’ is for ‘malicious’ or any SMS and other forms of messages accompanied by a link.

Meanwhile, Globe has noted a substantial decrease in bank-related spam and scam SMS, highlighting the success of its rigorous anti-fraud measures and strategic collaborations with major financial institutions.

From January to June 2024, Globe successfully intercepted 2,740,012 bank-related spam and scam messages, marking a 43.56 percent year-on-year decline compared to the 4,855,199 messages blocked in the same period of 2023.