Frequently Asked Questions on Globe Blocks Texts with Clickable Links
We are implementing these additional measures to further curb the increase in spam/scam affecting all our 92 million customers and 66 million customers in GCash. We are committed to the country's economic recovery by ensuring digital adoption is not dampened by these criminals who continue to erode trust in digital services.
- All Person-to-Person (P2P) texts with clickable links, whether from Postpaid or Prepaid, will be blocked across all networks.
- Application-to-Person (A2P) messages from legitimate businesses, such as Globe (e.g., GLOBE, TM, GCASH, BPI), will not be affected.
Yes. Any text containing a clickable link, even if sent by a known contact, will not be delivered. If you need to share links, use messaging apps like Viber, WhatsApp, Telegram, iMessage, or Messages by Google.
We will revisit the policy after the implementation of the SIM Registration Law or until we see that smishing scams are slowing down in the country. Until then, the priority is in place to protect our customers.
No, all customers in the Globe network are already protected as of September 29, 2022.
No, this feature applies to all Globe customers as part of a network-wide initiative to enhance security.
Most smishing or scam messages involve sending clickable links to lure people into malicious websites that generally lead to account compromise or the fraud modus itself. We try to block access to those sites as soon as we get reports of the smishing or scam, but it's very reactive. Also, it doesn't spare our customers from the nuisance of receiving them to begin with, even if they do not click the malicious links.
Also, although we have proactive filters to identify scam messages through a variety of means, we are aware that some still get through even as we already blocked 784 million messages from January to July this year, and 1 billion in 2021. This time around, we expect to just block smishing campaigns outright.
No, our filtering and blocking technologies can detect links without violating our customers' privacy of communications as defined by our policy. The privacy and security of our customers are of paramount importance to us.
No. OTT (Over-The-Top) messaging services like Viber and WhatsApp operate independently from telco networks. However, if a link is flagged as malicious, Globe can block access to that website on its network.
You can send links through messaging apps like:
- Viber
- Telegram
- iMessage (Apple)
- Messages by Google (Android)
We are currently unaware of any other operator globally that blocks ALL text messages with ANY clickable link. This is a first from Globe and it's borne out of our desire to make sure that our customers are safe and secure from these malicious scams.
You can report this immediately in Globe’s StopSpam portal so we can investigate and do necessary actions if found spam or scam - https://www.globe.com.ph/stop-spam
Additionally, you may also block the sender number in your phone and set up spam filters thru message settings.