Gretchen Ho and other Filipinos reported that they continue to receive text messages about sketchy job offers and promotions.
Ho on Twitter shared a screenshot of an inbox filled with these text messages from unnamed senders.
https://t.co/edI8eixUNu pic.twitter.com/Iql89wXdzX
— Gretchen Ho (@gretchenho) May 23, 2022
It was a quote retweet from another user named Brian Ong who asked about an update on the text scam incident last year.
Ong also shared a screenshot of a text message about a dubious job offer on his tweet.
“Nobody has been held liable for the leak of our cellphone numbers to these dubious job offers. Ano na???” he said.
Nobody has been held liable for the leak of our cellphone numbers to these dubious job offerors. Ano na??? 😤 pic.twitter.com/UiJViAl2ke
— Brian Ong (@briankingong) May 23, 2022
In the comments section of both tweets, several users also reported the same experience of receiving spam texts from unknown senders.
One user shared that he had already blocked several of these numbers. The messages, however, kept on coming.
“Dame ko na na blocked, pero mukhang kabute, nanganganak haha,” the user said.
dame ko na na blocked, pero mukhang kabute, nanganganak haha pic.twitter.com/W2HnMmwQfz
— Marlon Buen (@qambuen) May 23, 2022
Another user shared a collage of the content of these messages.
The messages vary from a supposed offer to receive the government’s cash aid to a callout on a government official’s corruption issue.
same here pic.twitter.com/1Qx33pYQTS
— jest (@simplejped) May 23, 2022
Other users felt relieved that other mobile phone users are also receiving similar text scams.
“So I thought this was because I applied for a job last year kaya naging active ulit ang recruitment…hindi lang pala ako,” one user said.
“I thought I was the only one,” another user tweeted.
Some of them, meanwhile, noticed that reports on this situation came from subscribers of a particular telecom provider.
So far, no telecom provider or government agency has yet to issue a response on the matter.
Reports about a surge of these random texts suddenly emerged on social media in November 2021.
During that time, most of the texts were dubious job opportunities, promotions from brands and free cash deals.
Senders asked their recipients to visit links to a WhatsApp channel, an encrypted messaging service, to avail of these offerings.
READ: NPC probes reports of spam text messages on sketchy job offers, free cash deals
These reports soon reached the National Privacy Commission (NPC).
The NPC later said that a global syndicate could be behind the spam text messages being sent to Filipino users.
NPC Commissioner Raymund Liboro also previously said that it is unlikely for the SMS to have come from contact tracing forms and apps.
RELATED: #StopScams: Leonen sounds alarm vs spam text messages
In December 2021, the commission ordered Globe Telecom, Inc., Smart Communications, Inc. and Dito Telecommunity Corp., as well as Union Bank of the Philippines, Inc. and GCash (Mynt – Globe Fintech Innovations, Inc.), to submit to them certain documents for their further investigation.
