Text scams are becoming more cunning by the day, and Globe is stepping up to fight back. The telco giant has rolled out a new SMS Scam Shield feature on the GlobeOne app, designed to help protect Filipinos from phishing attempts that often disguise themselves as trusted brands like Globe or GCash.
Protecting Filipinos from Smishing
Text-based scams, also known as smishing, have been on the rise, tricking unsuspecting users into clicking fake links or giving away sensitive data. Many of these come from spoofed sender names such as “GLOBE,” “GLOBEREWARD,” or “GCASH,” making them look legitimate at first glance. Worse, scammers are now using rogue devices called IMSI catchers, which mimic cell towers to push malicious texts.
With SMS Scam Shield, Globe aims to give its subscribers peace of mind and more control over their digital safety.
How SMS Scam Shield Works
The Scam Shield feature, currently available for Android users via the GlobeOne app, works in real-time on your device. Once activated, it scans incoming messages and flags suspicious texts that may contain phishing links or fake sender IDs.
Globe’s Vice President for Product Experience, Coco Domingo, explained that the feature empowers users to make safer choices. “SMS Scam Shield is our way of giving customers more control and peace of mind. With this built-in protection, users are alerted when they receive suspicious messages that may contain dangerous links or impersonate Globe-affiliated brands.”
Early Success: Thousands Protected Already
In just a few weeks since its launch, over 34,000 GlobeOne users have activated Scam Shield. Impressively, the system has already detected and blocked more than 13,000 phishing messages—proof that the threat is widespread but also that the tool is working.
Privacy First
Worried about data privacy? Globe clarifies that Scam Shield doesn’t read or store your SMS. All scans happen locally on your phone, with only malicious links being collected to strengthen the system’s defenses.
Community Effort Against Scams
Globe also encourages subscribers to report suspicious messages through its Stop Spam portal at www.globe.com.ph/stop-spam. This helps expand the blacklist of harmful links and builds a safer online community for everyone.
Part of a Bigger Cybersecurity Push
Scam Shield isn’t a one-off tool. It’s part of Globe’s broader commitment to strengthen cybersecurity for its users. Domingo emphasized, “Security shouldn’t be an afterthought—it should be seamless. This is just the beginning of more proactive tools we’re building into our digital services.”
How to Activate Scam Shield
Globe subscribers can enable Scam Shield on the GlobeOne app in just a few taps:
- Open GlobeOne
- Go to Profile
- Select Security Settings
- Activate SMS Scam Shield
Best of all? It’s completely free.
As text scams become more sophisticated, tools like Globe’s SMS Scam Shield provide much-needed protection for Filipinos. If you’re a Globe subscriber with an Android device, enabling this feature is a simple but powerful step in safeguarding your personal data.
Don’t wait for the next phishing attempt—secure your GlobeOne app today.