Senator Joel Villanueva has asked the National Privacy Commission to look into the “epidemic of ‘text scams,'” particularly the kind in which cell phone numbers are barraged with job ads or offers.
Villanueva, chair of the Senate labor committee, described the apparent “robo texts being blasted” to be the “forbidden fruit of a data breach or data sale somewhere.”
He said social media has been flooded with complaints of citizens who have been bombarded with job offers or sales work that promises huge commissions.
“This is the new budol in town,” Villanueva said in a statement.
He called on the NPC to coordinate with the National Telecommunications Commission “on how this illegal and irritating intrusion into one’s privacy can be stopped.”
He described these “robo texts” as a variant of fake news, “which many people can fall for.”
“In a nation where unemployment and digital disinformation are high, these kinds of messages can mislead many. Maraming kababayan po natin, lalo na ang mga naghahanap ng trabaho ang ma-si-swindle nito,” he said.
Villanueva asked government agencies and telecommunications firms to work together in preventing citizens from being victimized by “smishing,” a form of text message phishing, where criminals lure consumers into giving away personal or financial information.
“Nasa area pa rin po ito ng consumer protection na trabaho ng gobyerno,” he said.
He said text offers on overseas jobs violate laws in labor placement, an activity that is tightly regulated by the government to shield job seekers from being victimized by illegal recruiters. –rir
