Gcash and Viber Top Apps for Scammers to Obtain Data, According to NBI

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) found that scammers may be obtaining vital information from mobile apps to deceive unsuspecting victims. Among the applications listed by the agency include the prominent e-wallet GCash and messaging platform Viber. “Our initial investigation showed that criminals may have acquired or bought the data from different establishments,” elaborated NBI Cybercrime Division chief Cristopher Paz. “Then, they ran the mobile numbers on GCash and Viber to get the names of the subscribers and use them on their messages.”

Despite this, FVP and Chief Information Security Officer of PLDT and Smart Angel Redoble noted that the integrity of GCash’s infrastructure remains intact. The same is true for other digital wallets. Telcos, through their respective cybersecurity groups, have been working with the NBI and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to mitigate the spread of recent scams.

“There’s no recent cybersecurity incident that may have allowed criminals to breach our infrastructure and steal customer data to be targeted in their fraudulent activities,” Redoble affirmed. “We believe that the recent smishing attacks are being perpetrated by local operators. We continue to work with law enforcement agencies to track down the criminals.” Experts describe smishing as a cybersecurity attack carried out over mobile text messaging.

“At a time of aggressive cybercriminal activity amid growing digitalization, Globe asserts that the public, government, and industry players, including telcos, are all victims of these illegal acts,” echoed Globe’s Chief Information Security Officer Anton Bonifacio. “It is, thus, a shared fight among all of us to beat our common enemy, which is cybercrime.”

To date, Globe Telecom Inc. spent ₱1.1 billion in capital expenditures to deepen its capacity to detect and block scams and spam messages. “We work closely with the National Telecommunications Commission and the Data Privacy Commission to crack down on cybercriminals and protect data privacy,” Bonifacio added. Moreover, the telco has also partnered with banks and online retailers to encourage better cybersecurity measures across involved industries. PLDT and Smart, on the other hand, invested around ₱3 billion in 2021 to strengthen their cybersecurity infrastructure.

Source: Manila Bulletin