Philippines - Cops to use SMS to check gun licenses

MANILA, Philippines - Police officers will use short messaging system (SMS) or text messaging to verify the ownership of firearms whose bearers are accosted during the election period, a Philippine National Police official said yesterday.

Chief Superintendent Raul Petrasanta, chief of the PNP Firearms and Explosives Division (FED), said the use of text messaging for policemen manning checkpoints would surely help them in immediately verifying the gun ownership of certain firearms.

Petrasanta said the SMS program would be launched within the month in preparation for intensified implementation of checkpoints to ensure honest, peaceful and orderly elections.

“We will soon launch this SMS program for members of the PNP to allow them to verify real-time,” he said, noting that the program will be in operation round the clock since it is computerized.

Petrasanta said if the person is not the rightful owner of the firearm he or she will be charged with illegal possession of firearms. He clarified that only the gun’s registered owner can keep it and only a person with a permit to carry a gun outside residence (PTCFOR) can bring a gun outside his house.

He warned gun owners that they will need a PTCFOR even if their gun is in their car since “cars and other vehicles are not considered an extension of your home.”

Source: By Cecille Suerte Felipe on 15th November 2012

Philippines - Smart Money brings cashless parking system

e-Park via SMS: what an advanced mobile solution technology

Smart and parking operator Wi-Tech Solutions & Development have launched an e-Park initiative and is a project of Smart Money. Users of Smart Money, the electronic wallet service, can conveniently pay parking fees through SMS when they park their vehicle along the Roxas Boulevard service road in Manila, site of the first cashless and automated street parking system in the Philippines. After parking on any of the 90 slots between Pedro Gil Street and the Magsaysay Center on Roxas Boulevard, vehicle owners with a Smart Money account need only text a code to have the parking fee automatically deducted from their mobile wallet. The parking rate is PHP 10 per hour. Vehicle owners can occupy a slot for a minimum of two hours. Thirty minutes before they reach the time limit, Smart Money users will receive an SMS reminding them to either vacate the slot or send additional load using the same code to extend their use of the parking space.

Vehicle owners who have no Smart Money account yet can pay in cash to e-loaders in the area who, for a minimal fee of PHP 3-5, will then use their Smart Money account to remit the payment to the e-Park system. Those who wish to get a Smart Money account may visit smart.com.ph.

Source: By telecompaper on 8th October 2012.

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Philippines - Telcos move to stamp out spam messages

MANILA, Philippines - Alarmed by the increasing number of spam text messages globally, GSMA, the global association of telecommunication firms spanning over 200 countries, said it would initiate measures to proactively address this messaging threat to mobile networks.

Spam text is the use of short messaging (SMS) to send unsolicited bulk messages indiscriminately about loan offers, promotions, commercial offerings, advertisements, surveys, political messages or propaganda. It can also be intended for fraud or scams, like load solicitation messages or bogus raffle notifications where mobile phone subscribers are told they have won a prize.

In its study, the GSMA found that 70 percent of reports of spam text are for fraudulent financial services rather than the traditional advertising or promotional scenarios. In the Philippines, the most common form of spam text are social engineering scams, such as loan or spurious promo scams where the call to action was often to simply reply to the sender in order to then con the subscriber into transferring money.

Members of the GSMA in the Philippines include the top telecommunications companies Globe Telecom, PLDT, Smart Communications and Digitel.

The GSMA announced during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain that American telecommunication giants AT&T, Bell Mobility, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless have launched the GSMA Spam Reporting Service (SRS), a worldwide clearinghouse of messaging threats and misuse which have been reported by mobile users.

The GSMA Spam Reporting Service analyses SMS traffic and identifies and aggregates reports of misuse submitted by mobile subscribers of participating networks via a short code. The short code ‘7726’, which spells “SPAM” on most phones, will be used where local national numbering plans permit. Consumers will be able to direct alleged spam to a responsive feedback system, so that appropriate action can be taken by the operator. This action might include investigations, warnings and blocking of senders who have been reported by end users as sending unsolicited or fraudulent messages.

“As mobile phones are such a personal medium, SMS spam feels like a very personal violation and customers may be tricked into becoming victims of fraudulent and damaging attacks,” according to Jeremy Sewell, chief operating officer of GSMA. “The mobile industry is focused on eradicating this scourge. Protecting the consumer and increasing messaging security is a priority.”

In the Philippines, Globe Telecom said it has been implementing measures to curb text spam. These include barring the account from using any Globe ‘unli-text’ promotional offer to disconnecting the line. Globe has also put in place tools where subscribers can report numbers suspected of sending spam text messages. These numbers are then forwarded to the National Telecommunications Commission for appropriate action.

Source: by Mary Ann Ll. Reyes, The Philippine Star on March 14, 2012

Philippines - The largest average usage - 15 texts sent per day in Philippines

Over years now, text messaging(SMS) has evolved into the most widely used mobile data service, with 35% of all mobile phone users worldwide or 4.2 Million out of 7.3 Million phone subscribers at end of 2003 being active users of the Short Message Service.

The largest average usage of the service by mobile phone subscribers is in the Philippines with an average of 15 texts sent per day by subscriber.