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Philippine Call Centers under scrutiny from AT&T data breach

It’s been reported that call centers in Philippines as well as those located in Columbia and Mexico are on AT&T’s watch list due to data breach that affects almost 280,000 US customers.

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The $25M settlement with AT&T Services was to “resolve an investigation into consumer privacy violations at AT&T’s call centers located in the said countries.” This has been by far the largest privacy and data security enforcement action made by FCC or Federal Communications Commission.

Call Center Focus also reports that the fine has already been implemented in other call center companies. Additionally, sources say Teleperformance in Mexico is the company where three suspect employees came from.

Here in the Philippines, however, the local authorities have not yet made any form of investigation since the president “has yet to make a National Privacy Commission that would regulate the data privacy policies under the law.

Because of the issue, other AT&T accounts have already been pulled out from call center firms. Other employees who still have the account are also in fear of losing their jobs once the company’s contract expires.

How’s the status of AT&T accounts in your call center company?

{Via}

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Avatar for Kevin Bruce Francisco

Kevin Bruce Francisco is the Senior Editor and Video Producer for YugaTech. He's a Digital Filmmaking graduate who's always either daydreaming of traveling or actually going places on his bike. Follow him on Twitter for more tech updates @kevincofrancis.

66 Responses

  1. Avatar for viva ahente viva ahente says:

    Ako po ay call center agent for 3 years at 3rd year college na din po ako . . .wala na po yung mga parents ko and so i need to work just to support my studies . Its really hard to both work at night and study during daytime. . The call center where im still currently working at gave me chance even if i was a high school graduate when i applied for a post. . The company even reimburse me for my tuition fees and adjust to my schedule. . Yes i have plans in the future want to be a teacher soon. . Its indeed a dead end job but do we have choice? If i apply in a company that can provide minimum wage will it still give me chance to study and fulfill my dreams of becoming a teacher? Well NO . .in this world where we are living happiness cant be felt if you dont have money and you cant enjoy your job if you are under pay. well if you are thinking that people here are not happy well then okay but you dont know why we are here . Some of us are single parent feeding their children, a student like me, dreaming, or those people who really need to work and no one accepted him/her. . . Here in call center we are trained to be competitive . . . . . Just think of this if call centers were not introduced in Ph do you think you still have your job when there are more competitive applicants that they can hire?

  2. Avatar for enrique enrique says:

    Guys mahirap ba talaga yung AT&T account? Kasi sabi ng mga ka workmates ko duguan daw paanung duguan?

  3. Avatar for CallCenterPo CallCenterPo says:

    Opo undergrad kami, di naman kasi kami kagaya nio pinalad makatapos. At kung bitter kayo wala naman kami magagawa e.

    Ano po ba gusto nio gawin ko? 1st yr college lng po natapos ko e, nakapagservice crew na din ako, tuwing kinsenas noon mga few yrs back 4.5k lang naiuuwi ko kinsenas sa 6 na araw na pasok kada isang linggo.

    Ngayon 3x na ng sinasahod ko nuon ang natatanggap ko kinsenas sa limang araw na pasok. Ano po ang dapat ko i-hate sa trabaho ko? May 13th at 14th month bonus pa? anjan pa ang mga company activities, HMO(covered ang parents ko), insurance

    Ang pinupunto ko lang, kung indi nag work ang call-center para sayo at nakahanap ka ng ibang career e di good for you.

    Reality bites sa mga pumasok sa industriyang ito, para sa amin lalo na mga undergrad eto na ang pinakamagandang choice, oo anjan ang stress na ibinibigay pero if you find the right company un stress mo will be well compensated.

    Just to share, kahit papano ngayon nakakapagbigay na ako ng pera sa magulang ko, dati CLASS A lang ngayon original na, dati emperador/matador lang ngayon nakakapag black label na. Dagdagan pa nang yearly summer vacation.

    I know mallit na bagay to para sa ‘karamihan’ jan, but then again di naman ako ipokrito dahil para sakin milestone na ng buhay ko yan.

  4. Avatar for justpassingby justpassingby says:

    There is more in a call center than taking calls. Mostly are multi-contact centers now (inbound, outbound, chat, email, & back-office support). Definitely, those who tried and failed haven’t seen beyond operations. I’ve been in this industry for almost 10 yrs and had been promoted 5 times. Like in any other job, for you to step up, you need to know your career path and develop your skills. You need to strategize and understand the line of work you want to get into.

    Do note that the economy has thrived more because of this industry. It helped diversify the work environment and not limit people by age, sex and educational status in joining the workforce. This helped improve the standard of living of a lot of people.

    With this industry, somehow, it helped develop the standard of customer service in the Philippines. We now have better ideas on how people should be served and assisted.

    The pay is higher because the risk is bigger. People mostly work at night risking safety and health. Indulging yourselves with your hard earned money is none of your business. These people worked hard, probably same as anyone else, and they can spend it however they want to.

    This is typical Pinoy attitude – crab mentality. We can’t just be happy for one another. We really need to throw mud at each other just to feel who is superior.

    In the Philippines, it is not that easy to say do what you want to do because reality bites, sometimes you need to do things because it is practical and economical.

    Think about it. If this industry moves out in this country, I am really not sure if you will still be enjoying what you have now and how the government will solution mass unemployment.

  5. Avatar for Lols Lols says:

    Haha. Natatawa ko sa mga bitter sa mga call center agents e. Mas malaki lang kasi talaga yung sahod namin sa inyo. Oo karamihan samin undergrad talaga e pero kamusta naman yung nag graduate ng 4 years? Yung mga licensed etc? Asan na? nagtratrabaho ng 10-12 hrs pero yung sahod e parang ewan. Bitter kayo kasi kayo kahit anong pagod nyo di kayo makakapag ipon. Ako nag ta trabaho lang sa call center. High school grad lang nga e dahil sa sobrang kahirapan, pero dahil sa tenurity at tagal ko sa kumpanya na pinagtatrabahuhan ko above average talaga yung sahod ko. Stressful nga yung environment pero dahil dito nakapagtayo nako ng bahay para sa mga magulang ko.

    Di nga ko nakapag kolehiyo pero dahil sa propesyon nato naging IT ako, Accountant, Psychologist, Broker etc.

    Ako ang sinasabi nyong mapanghamak na version ng isang call center agent. Siguro nga bad example ako. May magagawa pa ba kayo? Wala na. Hindi daw laging sahod ang dahilan kaya nagtratrabaho? PWE. wag nga tayong maging impokrito pls. Pwede ninyong i downgrade kaming mga BPO employees but at the end?pagdating ng kinsenas? you’ll always be two. YES, TWO STEPS BEHIND. :))

  6. Avatar for Irene Irene says:

    Ewan, but I completely agree with rape.
    Siguro masakit un mga salita, pero un ang totoo eh.
    Sa loob ng limang taon, wala akong self-fulfillment.
    Five long years…
    But seriously, I’d rather work in a small company that has 3-10 employees and get appreciated,
    than be in a multinational firm, work my ass off and gets nothing in return.

    • Avatar for atrick atrick says:

      3-10 employees? you call that a company? How long do you think a company with that head count will last.

  7. Avatar for rape rape says:

    Hello night owls! I’m baaaack!!

    Upon reading your replies I cannot truly contain what I feel for you dead end people working in a modern slave setup. Oh well.

    Napaghahalataan yung mga call center agents kasi ang bitter nila. O baka ma overbreak kayo kase soper bitter nyo!!

    Nga pala, this goes to call center agents lang, yung solb nang sumagot ng telepono 8 oras gabi gabi na sinisigawan ng mga taong halfway around the globe kasi di nyo mapagana internet nila, or may issue sa delivery nung binili nila or nag blue screen yung PC.

    I’ve had my fair share of working in a call center and swear to God, hinding hindi na ako babalik. Di nyo mababago sa pagmumura or sa panglalait saken or sa mga degrading words and katotohanan mga peeps, na hanggang dyan na lang kayo.

    Ang gusto ko lang ipaabot sa inyong mga nalihis ng landas, busog na busog nga ang mga bulsa nyo sa laki ng sahod, pero masaya ba kayo? kung gusto mo yung ginagawa mo na sasagot ng tawag 8 hours a day na nakaupo ka lang sa isang cubicle then good for you, dyan lang inaabot ng mga taong walang pangarap.

    Alisin na natin yung dahilan na kaya ko nandyan kase nakakatulong yung malaking sahod nyo sa mga gastusin, or sa pagpapaaral or nakakapagabot kayo sa bahay ng pang gastos automatic naman na yun ang karamihan sa ating goal ng pinoy eh. Ang tanong, hanggang dyan ka na lang ba?

    Ang puso mo, busog ba? Kasi gusto mo yung ginagawa mo? Fulfilling ba? Kung masaya ka na kase malaki ang sweldo mo then sorry to say, sometimes it’s not all about the money.

    Ang haba na ng reply ko, pero what I really want to point out is…

    there’s more to life than sitting in a square cold cubicle talking to someone halfway around the world.

    Go out and do what you love, Wag magpakaalipin sa sariling bayan.

    Gumawa ng career na pwede mong ipagmalaki! Kung proud ka na sa pagiging call center ay nako sayang lang ang pinagaralan mo at nastuck ka na lang dyan na di man lang naexperience gawin ang gusto nilang gawin.

    O let the butthurt call center peeps react! in 3.. 2.. 1…

    • Avatar for Gumahasa kay rape Gumahasa kay rape says:

      Rape ang bitter mo, di na namin kasalanan na di ka pumasa sa initial interview sa lahat ng call center. tsaka kung di ka bobo di lahat ng call center ay 8 hours nagkocalls. kasi kami 8 hours offline. May pangarap kami, at yun eh yung mamatay ka ng maaga.

    • Avatar for reianni reianni says:

      This is a true, straight to your gut but sad fact about the call center industry. I’ve known and have friends who are in your industry since 2000 and even they reached the top of the ladder, account managers, site managers..etc. But when they compared their positions as “managers” to other managers in other fields they said that their status felt lacking compared to other managers from different industries. Soon, they left their bpo company and tried their hand in other industries. Some were fortunate but most of them weren’t because in the call center world there is your skill set and to other industries like let’s say San Miguel, Intel, Samsung, ADB.. the skill set you got in the call center industry doesn’t qualify or meet up to their own expectations. In the end they all said that “working in the call center industry is a job, not a career.”

  8. Avatar for CallCenterKaLang CallCenterKaLang says:

    Feeling classy ang mga callcenter agents mga magnanakaw pala. Sykes cebu kung maka-asta sa mga bar parang mga “share-holders” ng company nila. I dont judge your profession, i just hate the people that are in to it. Oh well, ganyan tala ang mga undergrad na nakakatanggap nang sahod above the minimum wage.

  9. Avatar for Ms.Intern Ms.Intern says:

    how many agents are affected by the alleged AT&T pull out in your center? What LOB?

  10. Avatar for Ms.Intern Ms.Intern says:

    Hi guys. Ilang agents ang affected ng alleged AT&T pull out sa centers nyo? And anong LOB po?

  11. Avatar for Anonamemo Anonamemo says:

    Cnu grabeh ngaun manglait? Di ba kyo? Nagtatanong lang naman si rape ang sasama na ng mga sinabi ninyo. Apektado kayo ng husto kasi nga sa mga sinabi nyo ang tataas, di namin ma reach! Kung magmura kayo ngaun kala mo kung sino kayo! Nagmura ba ung tao sa inyo? Hindi db? Bitter db ang tawag dyan?. Yung mga basura nyong mga callcenter agent n naninigarilyo itapon nyo sa tamang basurahan ha! Hindi porket may janitor kayo may taga linis na kayo! Ngaun sumagot pa ang sasagot dahil ang taas talaga ng ihi ninyo kaya ayan damay damay kayo ngaun. Pati mga matitino dinamay pa ninyo. Tanggalin nyo ung mga yabang nyo na makikita at mababasa sa post at may mga taong maawa sa inyo. Kahit ako, na isang janitor, baka maawa sa inyo.

    • Avatar for Mike Mike says:

      Anonamemo, hindi ako agree na murahin o laitin si rape. Patas lang dapat. Maganda rin ang pakikitungo ko sa mga janitor at security guard samin. Basahin niyo yung tanung ni rape at hindi lang panlalait kundi pangiinsulto po. Dina-down niya ang bpo employees.

      Yung mga negatibong reaksyon sa kanya ay bunga lang ng kanyang tinanim. Sa kanya nagmula lahat. Kung hindi siya nanginsulto hindi na tayo marahil naguusap. Mabuti na rin ito nang matuto siya ng mahalagang aral tungkol sa tamang pakikitungo sa kapwa at pagbibigay respeto sa trabaho ng iba.

      Kung may hinanakit po kayo sa mga agent na nagtatapon ng upos ng sigarilyo sa maling paraan, hindi po dito ang tamang lugar para bigyan ng boses ang hinanakit ninyo kundi ireklamo ninyo sa admin po ninyo at sila ang magaabiso sa mga agente ninyo tunkol diyan. Hindi po lahat ng agent ganyan kumikos at hindi po lahat naninigarilyo. Pero may mabuti at masamang agent dahil may mabuti at masamang tao sa mundo. Salamat po.

    • Avatar for mouse mouse says:

      Anonamemo – Kuya/Ate, kung sino naman po kayo. Naiintindihan ko po ang inyong sentimiento at punto po. Ang sa akin lang po is wag naman po tayo mag generalize po kasi di naman po lahat ng mga taga call center mayayabang at mapagmataas. Meron naman din po mga taga call center na mababait, matulungin, mapagmalasakit, at mapagkumbaba at marespeto po. Di naman po lahat kami ganun po na klaseng tao. Ang importante lang po sana is may disciplina at konsensya na gawin ang tama. Hanga po ako sa inyong kasipagan po sa trabaho at saludo din po ako sa inyo kasi kahit na di po madali ang trabaho ninyo ay nakakayanan nyo pa rin po ito.

  12. Avatar for jake jake says:

    Walang work yang si rape…

    Dagdag lang sa unemployment rate ng Phil. I also ask myself ‘how on earth other people look down on call center agents?’ dahil siguro akala nila papasok sa work, uupo then magbabasa ng script pag may customer kana. Di nila isipin na pag nakaupo kana at may kausap di lang isip mo gumagana, pati katawan (upper part mostly), pasensya (granny call), willingnes (para sa QA), providing resolution (Tech Support kasi ako), rapport (pag may time) atbp. all in one seating.

    Yung mga taong gaya ni rape, never makakapasok sa BPO industry at magti-tiyaga sa kulang nilang sweldo, maging turista sa sariling bansa, wishing na mabili ang latest na cellphone na hindi umuutang. yun lang.

  13. Avatar for Felix Felix says:

    @rape: Siguro nag apply ka sa call cneter dati pero hindi ka natanggap no? kasi parang nagsasalita ka na hindi ka nag iisip…isang malaking sign ng kaBOBOhan. bawal kasi sa call center ang mga bobo. para makapasok ka sa industry NAMIN(oo, kasi kami lang, hindi ka kasama, ulol!) you have to be at least with above-average communication, analytical and problem-solving skills not to mention being physically and mentally fit to conquer stress and pressure brought by graveyard and toxic working environment.

    kaya mo kaya lahat ng mga nabanggit namin? or baka sa communication skills pa lang, bagsak ka na.

  14. Avatar for missmallow missmallow says:

    @rape, don’t you know that because of bpo companies here in the Philippines nag improve ang economic state natin. You’e dumb as shit. Alam mo ba na yang mga call center na yan na hinahamak mo nagbbayad ng malaking business tax and have provided employment to thousands of Filipino. Not just, call center agents and those on the higher position but also mga security guards, janitors, helper, concessionaires, IT’s and etc. Try mo mag training for a call center agent position. Tingnan natin ang galing mo.

  15. Avatar for Mike Mike says:

    @rape: erratum lang, ser. “…the TRAINING the receive is valuable and marketable.” – Pasensya na, bilingual ako e. Ang isa pang benefit sa call center ay an-strecth yung mind mo kasi marami kang natututo. Lumalawak ang perception mo kasi kausap mo mga foreigner maski hindi ka nag-abroad. Marami kang makakausap na intelihente at mabababit na foreigner. Pag na-expose ka sa foreigner, na-eemphasize yung pagka-pilipino mo at unti-unti kang nagiging Pilipino, aksi nakikita mo yung kultura ng ibang bansa at nahahalata mo yung pagkaiba ng kultura mo. Marami akong nakakasama na mas lumalalim ang kanilang pagka-Pilipino bunga ng pagbabad nila sa call center. Pero paano mo maiintindihan o malalaman ang kaaranasan ng taga call center kung kulang na nga ang alam mo tapos negative pa. Like i said, I don’t care what you think but I care about what others might conclude as a result of your narrow-minded and shallow comment about your hardworking co-Filipinos who are chasing their dream. If you don’t like it, go work on your own dream but leave them out of it.

    • Avatar for shutter shutter says:

      kawawa naman ni-RAPE ninyo sya. hehehe

    • Avatar for tanga ka tanga ka says:

      @ RAPE sobra kanaman kung mkapanglait k ng kapwa mo sagad hanggang buto..dapat proud ka kasi may mga pilipino na hindi na lumalabas ng abroad para kumita and magtrabaho.dito pa lang sa pilipinas para ka narin nasa ibang bansa kapag nagtatrabaho ka sa BPO industry.and plus kasama mo pa pamilya and kaibigan mo….paano pa kaya ang tingin mo sa mga construction workers?nagtitinda sa kalsada?magsasaka?mga katulong?mga drivers?na kylangan magtrabaho para kumita and may mapakain sa pamilya nila????

  16. Avatar for rape rape says:

    Nagatataka ako bakit may mga taong proud maging Call Center agents. Hanggang dyan na lang ba talaga ang kaya nyo?

    • Avatar for Mike Mike says:

      @rape: Wow, may isa pa tayong customer na hindi pa alam ang profile ng mga taga call center. At dahil wala kang alam kaya mo binabale-wala ang career na ‘to. First of all, ang sagot sa tanong mo ay HINDI hanggang diyan lang ang kaya namin. Kasi may internal hiring para sa management positions. Kaya pwede mong i-career ang call center at pag supervisor ka na, hindi ka na lagi sa phones, paminsan-minsan nalang para updated ka sa trends. Tapos ang daming benefits depende sa company mo. Hospital card. celphone with line. SSS, pagibig, meal and transpo, basic salary, ATM card, attendance bonus, performance bonus, quality bonus, schedule adherence bonus. Yung mga agent ko noon ay naguuwi ng 20-25k kada payday. May mga awards at recognitions. Special awards and prizes. Christmas and special bonus plans. 2 days off per week. Vacation leave. Plus, itong BPO industry ay sunshine industry meaning, fast growing and stable. Mga lasy year ang pinasok ng OFWs sa Phils ay mga $20 Billion. Ang pinasok ng BPO ay $13 Billion at ang projected na ipapasok within 2 years is $26 Billion. Halos one million na and growing ang employed. Kung nagtataka ka pa o hindi, I really don’t care because these BPO employees are able to achieve their dreams, to support their families, travel, eat good and healthier food, afford to shop and watch movies, etc. In shprt, yung quality of life nila na-upgrade. the reining they receive is valuable and marketable. The demand for callcenter employees ay palaki ng palaki.

    • Avatar for midnight midnight says:

      uhm, what’s your job??? I mean seriously. I have met lots of people like you looking down at call center workers like us. Why? Simple. because we earn much bigger than the usual which an average person cant. no matter how hard they try. And not to mention that not everybody does Fraud. I have had series of BONUSES that doesn’t require for me to do fraud simply because I am smart enough to meet the clients expectation. how about you? what kind of expectations your clients are awaiting from you? Do they even have a standard of your job? mind you. us call center workers CAN stand out in which ever line of business we can go to. Simply because of the kind of training we have. yes we may sit down most of the time of our shift, and that’s why people envy us. they say only those who does hard work should earn a lot. just cause we’re sitting down we cant earn lots? DUH. we use our abilities to think rationally, to respond immediately and not to be affected emotionally. Can you multitask? Because we sure can. There are a lot of Principals, Teachers, Medical & Law students,and other professionals who turned into a BPO worker just cause we earn a lot. But what they didn’t know is we need intelligence on this too. Those Professionals were surprised that working on a BPO is indeed a hard job. Your intelligence quotient is used on this. And if your an SME or above, you get exhausted from all the hard work to go to one station to another. It’s like a marathon to make sure customers and agents are assisted in a fast manner. I suggest you try working on a company like BPO. oh and yeah, I have worked with AT&T and I know how tough the job is. Sad, they’re gone cause this company is really great in honing leaders and training agents. Once you get to know how BPO works, you will never go back to the kind of shitty customer service we sometimes have here in our Country. Make sure you think first before giving out such comment like yours.

    • Avatar for mouse mouse says:

      @rape.. sir/ma’am.. kung sino man po kayo, sana wag naman po kami ninyo i-degrade na mga call center agents kasi marami man din sa amin po ang nagtatrabaho na may dangal at pag papahalaga sa trabaho namin.. People in the call center are also professionals too. They have gone to school and have been educated as well. Us, call center agents are doing our best to make a decent living as well and also provide for our families too.. Prior to entering this industry, we are gauged according to our skills and if we are fit for the job in all aspects. Please don’t be too judgemental towards us and please do not generalize because not all callcenter agents are capable in doing such things. We as persons, also have this thing called conscience as well. Hope you get to understand us more. We are just people like you who are trying to make a decent living.

  17. Avatar for ryan ryan says:

    bigyan ng milktea.

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