MANILA, Philippines – The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has ordered three telco companies to block domains or any links in text scams.
The order, contained in a memorandum dated September 12, 2022 and signed by NTC commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba, was addressed to DITO Telecommunity Corp., Globe Telecoms Inc., and Smart Communications Inc.
“Telcos are hereby ordered to block or deactivate domains or Uniform Resource Locators (URLs), TinyURLs, Smart Links, and/or QR Codes emanating from malicious sites,” said Cordoba in the memo.
WATCH: Smishing: ‘Personalized’ text scams in the Philippines
According to the same memo, the three telco companies are expected to block these links based on a database with information from various government bodies such as the NTC, National Privacy Commission, Department of Trade and Industry, law enforcement agencies, as well as subscriber reports.
These telco companies are expected to submit a written report of compliance to the NTC on or before September 16, according to Cordoba.
DITO Telecommunity Corp., Globe Telecoms Inc,. and Smart Communications Inc. have previously signed a memorandum of understanding to combat such text scams, vowing to remove malicious links and websites from text scams.
RELATED STORIES