NTC wants Major Telcos to Deactivate Links in Malicious SMS messages

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) is pushing the three biggest telco companies in the country to deactivate all clickable URLs/links that connect people to malicious websites inside SMS messages.

NTC Addresses SMS Scams

These links, and sometimes QR codes, come from scammers that will then lead you to their fraudulent websites. According to a memo from NTC, the leaked information came from the databases from the National Privacy Commission, Department of Trade and Industry, PNP, and reports that were gathered using machine learning/A.I.

In addition, the leaked personal information may have been sourced from large-scale data breaches and contact tracing forms during the heat of the pandemic.

Now, the PNP and NBI are currently investigating these fraudulent activities with the help of telco companies increasing their efforts to tighten up cybersecurity and early detection. Like the mobile wallet Gcash’s “username anonymity” feature hides some letters of their customers when transferring money.

Also, lawmakers and stakeholders are pushing the SIM card registration act as this may greatly help in mitigating these kinds of malicious SMS from spreading even further.

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