PLDT and Smart Advise Avoiding Phishing Emails Created with Artificial Intelligence

​Because local authorities anticipate an increase in online scams during the holidays, PLDT and its wireless business Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) encourage the public to carefully look through their emails or messages before responding or clicking attached links. According to the Cyber Security Operations Group (CSOG) of PLDT and Smart, cybercriminals are not only becoming more adept at imitating authentic emails, but they are also utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the credibility of their communications.

“AI-crafted emails contain more polished, personalized messages that imitate the writing style of humans. They also contain authentic-looking visual cues that trick victims into believing that they are reading official messages from their banks or organizations,” PLDT, Smart, and ePLDT's Chief Information Security Officer and FVP, Angel Redoble, issued a warning.

"The most important thing is to know who the email is from. Remembering the very basic rule of not talking to strangers can protect people from being victimized by scammers,” added Redoble. 

According to CSOG, victims are more likely to divulge personal information when they get phishing messages created by artificial intelligence (AI), citing a preliminary study conducted by Germany-based cybersecurity awareness training service provider SoSafe. 

PLDT and Smart are unrelenting in their efforts to protect their clients from online threats. The PLDT Group blocked about 17 billion attempts to access dangerous domains in the first eleven months of 2023 after blacklisting over five million malicious URLs and links connected to phishing, spam, hoaxes, and other illicit activity. In the same time frame, it has also prevented more than 60 million SMS messages from getting through to clients. Over 290,000 mobile numbers that were utilized for illicit purposes were blocked by Smart from its network between January and November.

The PLDT Group's much larger program to improve the quality of customer experience by shielding them from risks and cyber-attacks is heavily reliant on the work of PLDT and Smart to identify and block harmful messages, including SIMs and websites linked to fraudulent operations.

Take a screenshot of any questionable or harmful messages you receive, then email it to [email protected]. Through this route, you can also report additional cybersecurity issues, including vishing, phishing, and malicious domains.