Globe Telecom Inc. warned its customers yesterday against voice phishing scams where fraudsters pretend to be National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) officials.

In this new scheme, scammers call potential victims claiming their phone number has been linked to illegal activities. The fraudsters would then extort money from their targets, threatening to arrest them if they do not cooperate.

“Criminals prey on our natural respect for authority, using it as a weapon to deceive and manipulate. This is what we see in this new scam modus, where fraudsters pretend to be NTC officials. We call on our customers to be very vigilant and do not fall victim to these scammers,” said Anton Bonifacio, Globe chief information security officer.

Globe asked subscribers not to give personal information or financial details over the phone even if the caller claims to be from a legitimate organization and to report suspicious calls to the authorities.

Globe said it is committed to protecting its customers from scams, working with the NTC and other law enforcement agencies to crack down on scammers and bring them to justice.

It also proactively blocks numbers linked to various forms of scams, including vishing, the company added.

In the second quarter of the year, Globe has blocked about 236 million scam messages, down by 79 percent compared to 1.1 billion messages blocked a year ago as scammers shifted to other channels.

Globe also said the number of deactivated SIMs reported via its #StopScam portal from April to June 2024 fell to 504 from 4,054 in the same period the previous year, marking an 88 percent decrease year on year.

Globe also saw a 65 percent drop in the total blacklisted numbers from competitors, from 31,078 in the second quarter of 2023 to 11,026 in the second quarter of 2024.

Fraudsters are shifting to over-the-top media services or chat apps, Rich Communication Services or RCS chats for Android users, and other Internet-based messaging platforms to send messages to target users even while using foreign numbers or email addresses, Globe said.

These messages also do not pass through the cellular network, Globe pointed out.