PERSONAL data of more than 8,800 Globe prepaid subscribers were compromised after the telecommunications company sent the wrong confirmation receipt to another individual.
In a statement in their GlobeICON Facebook page, Globe Telecom downplayed the error as "just a case of sending the data registration confirmation receipt to the wrong individual and was not sent en masse or as a group of data."
"It only affected prepaid customers, who have registered to the On The List program to avail [themselves] of concert tickets and other music venues of Globe events," the official statement stated.
Globe Telecom said that about 8,851 customers were affected out of 60 million prepaid customers.
In its website, Globe Prepaid’s On The List is a "membership program extended to loyal prepaid customers who can enjoy exclusive perks such as first dibs on promos and ticket giveaways." Pre-qualified customers would have received a text inviting them to sign up, it added.
The latest promo is on the Korean pop group, BLACKPINK 2019 World Tour: In Your Area Concert in Manila.
In response, the site was taken down to prevent interested applicants from registering their information.
"The On The List registration site was taken down immediately to remove access to potential registrants at the time and we have notified all affected prepaid customers of the issue," Globe Chief Information Security Officer Anton Bonifacio said.
In an online report by BestVPN.com, the users inputed their name, their postal addresses and mobile numbers.
The National Privacy Commission, in a statement, warned users of any unusual activity of their online and offline accounts.
"On Sunday, January 27, 2019, Globe Telecom, through its Data Protection Officer, formally notified the NPC of a personal data breach. Based on their report, the personal data breach occurred due to a system error, potentially affecting 8,851 customers," Privacy Commissioner Raymund Liboro said.
The agency stressed the need for the users to change their passwords and other means of identity verification, and to be careful of phishing attempts and other online risks through their email accounts.