By Alyssa Nicole O. Tan, Reporter
A SENATOR has filed a resolution seeking to investigate rampant “personalized text scams” that use spam and phishing to victimize Filipinos.
“It is alarming that while major telecommunication providers claim to have already blocked a significant number of spam and phishing text messages, the problem continues to hound many telecommunication subscribers,” Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian said in a statement on Monday.
“It is clear that the steps taken by the inter-agency group to address this problem are not sufficient,” he said. “More interventions need to be done by the government to effectively stop such activities.”
Senate Resolution 133 filed on Aug. 11 seeks help from the government to stop the spread of unsolicited text messages in the country, especially those that try to obtain a user’s sensitive information including usernames, passwords and credit card details.
Senator Maria Lourdes Nancy S. Binay said it brought her “unexplained fear and a terrifying surprise” when she received a random text message with her name on it.
“When I received a text message on my personal phone with my name, I was so shocked because I never use my personal phone in online transactions,” she said in mixed English and Filipino. “My number is not even linked to other social media accounts.”
“Despite the passage of Republic Act 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012,…
