MANILA – The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has warned the public against fraudulent text messages and to avoid transacting with them.
In a Facebook post on Monday, the CAAP said fraudulent text messages were allegedly from CAAP Director General Manuel Tamayo, and his alleged staff named Jenny.
It said mobile numbers 0977 622 4936 and 0927 009 3970 are not, in any way, affiliated with CAAP, especially with the Office of the Director General.
The CAAP urged the public to report suspicious messages to network.admin@caap.gov.ph for appropriate action and investigation.
In a related development, Globe called for a need to increase vigilance against SMS spoofing, a scam that uses names of reputable organizations.
“Spoofing involves fraudsters impersonating legitimate SMS sender IDs, including Globe and other organizations, to trick recipients into believing that the messages are authentic. This technique has become increasingly prevalent, particularly in Metro Manila, despite the implementation of SIM registration last year aimed at curbing SMS fraud,” it said in an advisory.
Globe also advised the public to report suspicious messages to its customer service channels, not to click links from unknown sources, and never share personal information via SMS.
“Spoofing is a form of cybercrime that is becoming increasingly difficult to detect. We urge everyone to be extra cautious with any SMS that asks for personal information or prompts to click on a link,” Anton Bonifacio, Globe’s chief information security officer, said. (PNA)