In a press release, the telco giant acknowledged that cybercriminals might use text messages to steal personal information from phone users to defraud them, gain access to their social media accounts, or use their identities to victimize others.

"Data is the new oil," said Joseph Ian Gendrano, senior vice president and chief information security officer at PLDT and Smart.

Gendrano also reminded the public to guard their data and avoid sharing it with people they do not know.

"To further keep customers safe from fraudulent activities, Smart is reminding the public to be wary of clicking dubious links on SMS or emails from unknown persons," the press release read.

To avoid getting baited by phishing messages, or messages sent to trick people into revealing their data, the telco giant also urged phone users to refrain from opening emails and links or logging in to unfamiliar websites.

It also called on the public to be wary of ill-formed messages with bad grammar, which are likely to be phishing messages or scams.