Globe Telecom announced on Monday that it has deactivated 14,013 SIM cards that were found to be sources of spam and scam text messages. The telecommunications giant also revealed that it blocked over 400 million spam SMS messages in 2017 using its filtering and blocking mechanism.

“We understand the problems that could arise from these text messaging scams. This is why we have strengthened our campaign for a spam-free experience for all our customers. We will be constantly upgrading and improving our blocking and filtering mechanism to keep our network from these unwanted messages,” Globe Chief Information Security Officer Anton Bonifacio said in a statement.

Globe launched its anti-spam filtering and blocking mechanism in 2014. The mechanism is capable of filtering up to 1 billion SMS messages per day and allows the company to prevent the transmittal of spam or scam text messages using the Globe network. In 2015, the mechanism was later expanded and upgraded to block spam and scam messages from other networks.

Globe advises its customers to be aware of spam and scam text messages. “Text spamming is an industry-wide issue, and we acknowledge that Globe Telecom’s anti-spam campaign will not be as effective without the help of our customers. We encourage our customers to be vigilant and report any text scam they receive,” Bonifacio said.

The company said that it lowered spam attempts through its network from 2.9 million daily spam traffic in 2016 to only 182,000 daily spam traffic in 2017, for a 94% success rate. Additionally, the number of spam call complaints went down from 3,073 in 2014 to 1,085 in 2016, for a 65% success rate.

Globe customers can file their spam and scam-related complaints through the website at http://www.globe.com.ph/stopspam. Complainants are advised to provide information about the spam or scam messages they receive, such as the mobile number of the sender. Once Globe verifies that the number is a source of spam or scam messages, the said number will be deactivated.

Globe Telecom was recently conferred the “Best Project Contributing to Customer Excellence” award at the 2018 Process Excellence Network (PEX) Awards in Orlando, Florida, USA. The award is given to projects that have a significant impact on customer experience and satisfaction.

Source: Manila Bulletin