Spoofed Cell Numbers Explained

The scams are sophisticated. Most of us by now have received text messages from seemingly trusted numbers, like cell service providers, banks, or even government agencies. Most recently, there are reports of texts pretending to come from the DPWH to provide financial assistance for flooding.

- By CARL JAVIER

The texts look legitimate: points for your phone account or a chance to claim cash from your bank/credit card provider. Someone close to me got a text from her bank saying she earned enough points for an air-fryer; all she had to do was click a link and provide information.

And that’s how they get you.

But really, how do they get you? There’s something more complex going on. To answer, I interviewed Anton Bonifacio, Chief Information Security Officer and Chief Al Officer of Globe. He explains that while we can understand the modus operandi in spoofing numbers, it’s still very difficult to catch or prevent.

What the scammers do is they disconnect you from your actual cell service provider and shoot you into their network. They do this using a device called an IMSI Catcher. So without you knowing it, because your phone has come into contact with the signal from an IMSI Catcher, it has pulled you into their system.