Senator Grace Poe called on the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to escalate their efforts to stop text scammers victimizing many unsuspecting mobile phone users in the country.
“The unabated surge of text scams has brought further hardship and distress on our people who are already mired in debts. This must stop,” Poe lamented.
The veteran legislator herself has received a number of unwanted texts from prepaid mobile phone numbers promising jobs, extra income, incentives, and freebies.
“As more rely on digital technology to cope with the hard times, so must we intensify all necessary safeguards against heightened risks.”
“As more rely on digital technology to cope with the hard times, so must we intensify all necessary safeguards against heightened risks that can overturn our people’s efforts at recovery,” the seasoned lawmaker explained.
Despite the NTC’s earlier directive to major telcos Globe, Smart, and Dito to warn subscribers against fake jobs, such text messages have persisted with new gimmicks to bait and deceive mobile phone users.
“Hindi natin dapat hayaang patuloy na pagpiyestahan ng mga manloloko at sindikato sa likod ng mga text messages na ito ang mga kababayan natin.”
“Hindi natin dapat hayaang patuloy na pagpiyestahan ng mga manloloko at sindikato sa likod ng mga text messages na ito ang mga kababayan nating lugmok pa rin sa hagupit ng pandemya at tumataas pang presyo ng langis at bilihin,” an irked lady senator added.
As of end-March 2022, Globe has 87.4 million subscribers while Smart has 70.3 million.
As of end 2021, Dito reported having five million subscribers.
