Be warned: a new suspected phishing scam is making the rounds — and it uses delivery notices via text messages claiming to be from the Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost).
PHLPost on October 19 warned the public about this scheme following reports from Filipinos who received these sketchy text messages in the past week.
“Beware of clickbait! The Philippine Postal Corporation warns the general public against fraudulent and illegal attempts by unauthorized groups and/or individuals through text and online messages that use PHLPost’s name,” the postal office said.
“Do not share confidential information through your cellphone and computer,” it added.
It also defined phishing as an “illegal way to acquire sensitive data such as personal and financial information by pretending to be a legitimate company or individual via SMS [short messaging service], online messages, calls and more.”
Earlier, some Facebook users posted screenshots of text messages they received, notifying them about a parcel that could not be delivered due to a “wrong” or “incomplete” address.
The message has an attached link where recipients were asked to go and provide their home addresses.
One version of the text notice reads: “PHLPost: Your package has arrived at the local postal facility, but the address is wrong and cannot be delivered.”
A Reddit user also shared a screenshot showing an SMS text bearing the PHLPost’s name on the subreddit r/Philippines.
It also contained the following instruction: “Reply to ‘1’ to obtain your package link, PHLPost wishes you a great day.”
Last September, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) reported receiving over 45,000 complaints about text scams despite the SIM Registration Act in place.
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This measure was passed in October 2022 amid the surge in unsolicited text spam and reports of hacking into subscribers’ personal accounts.
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Complaints of receiving suspicious SMS, however, persisted after the SIM registration concluded last July.
“During the early phase of the SIM registration, we noticed a decline in the text scam complaints received in our office. However, in the ensuing months, we again noticed a sharp increase of reported scams,” NTC Commissioner Ella Blanca Lopez was quoted in a report as saying.
“As of date, we have received a total of 45,697 complaints related to scams,” she added.
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