Globe Telecom Inc. reported a 67 percent drop in the number of text spam and scam messages blocked on its network in the first quarter of 2024 versus the same period last year.
Globe said the total number of blocked spam and scam short messaging service (SMS) plunged to 363 million, compared to 1.1 billion.
The significant decline reflects its stringent anti-spam measures, the company added.
“The adoption of stringent filtering, along with other measures, has clearly borne fruit in dramatically reducing the volume of spam and scam SMS,” said Anton Bonifacio, Globe chief information security officer.
Bank-related spam and scam messages, which often attempt to lure victims into revealing sensitive financial information, declined by 74 percent to 1.04 million from 4.07 million during the period.
“We are pleased to see our intensified anti-spam initiatives finally turning the tide against unscrupulous individuals and syndicates who bombard our customers with fraudulent messaging,” Bonifacio added.
The number of customer-reported scam SMS received via Globe’s Stop Spam portal declined 44 percent year-over-year, to 342 in the first quarter from 610 in the same period last year, a positive sign that fewer customers are being successfully targeted, the company said.
Since 2015, Globe has invested over $101.2 million in its cybersecurity efforts, including $26 million to build up its defenses against fraud, messaging attacks and voice call-related threats.
This also covers the establishment and sustained upgrading of a state-of-the-art Security Operations Center, which operates round-the-clock to manage, monitor and protect the network and systems from potential risks.
