PLDT, Smart to launch anti-scam services

PLDT, Inc. and its wireless arm Smart Communications, Inc. will launch three services in 2025 to address scams and improve customer protection.

These include silent authentication, device location validation and improved know-your-customer (KYC) processes, PLDT Enterprise First-Vice President John R. Gonzales said in a statement on Thursday.

Silent authentication will replace traditional one-time password with a more secure method of logging into apps and addresses the rising threat of password interception by malicious actors, he said.

Device location validation allows merchants to verify a user’s device location during a transaction to help detect fraud, while enhanced KYC processes help ensure that transactions are legitimate and secure, he added.

“The Philippines is a mobile-first country,” Mr. Gonzales said. “Today, 64% of transactions here are conducted on mobile devices, and because of the high volume of transactions, the Philippines has become a major target for malicious actors.”

Smart stopped almost two billion malicious text messages from reaching customers in the 10 months to October, while blacklisting almost a million numbers tied to scams.

The PLDT Group said it is also working with government agencies against smishing — a form of phishing attack that targets mobile devices — including the investigation, apprehension, and prosecution of scammers.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave