BDO reiterates fight against account verification scam

Scammers are stepping into high gear with their attacks as the country continues to observe the enhanced community quarantine. A prevalent scam has them posing as a bank personnel and urging clients to verify their bank accounts by clicking on a link. This link then opens a website that looks exactly like a bank’s official website. On this fake website, they trick clients into divulging their personal information.

Personal information includes account numbers, credit card information, online banking login details like usernames and passwords, and One-Time PINs (OTP). It enables scammers to use clients’ identities, access their online bank accounts, and steal their money.

BDO Unibank reiterates that it will never ask their clients to verify their bank accounts. Legitimate bank officers, it says, will never reach out via SMS, call, email, or social media to ask for personal information for account validation.

Banking from home

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), alongside the various banks, have been encouraging clients to bank online over visiting their branches particularly at this time when the entire country is moving to flatten the COVID-19 curve. 

Online banking, the BSP adds, promotes social distancing and helps accountholders avoid face-to-face interactions. Above all, staying at home allows them to protect themselves and their loved ones from the virus.

BDO, for its part, continues to encourage its clients to bank from home and enroll to BDO Online Banking. To guide clients who may be banking online for the first time, the bank promotes how-to videos on its YouTube page and has helpful posts on its Facebook page and official website.

Staying vigilant against scammers

Scammers however are taking advantage of the lockdown situation and the added online banking usage. Upping their ante, their attacks now are more sophisticated than ever—their grammar is correct; their communication style is convincingly professional; their fake websites look exactly like their legitimate counterparts. As a result, many, especially first-time users of online banking, are getting victimized and losing their money.

The Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) already called on accountholders to be more vigilant: “There have been emails going around informing clients of account deactivation and asking clients to click on a link to prevent deactivation due to COVID-19. We would like to advise against doing so since it will compromise your account security… Banks will never request for your sensitive information.”

Meanwhile, through its #BDOAntiScam campaign, BDO empowers its clients with information that teaches them how to be smarter than scammers. It exposes scam attacks, reminds about the things legitimate bank officers will never do or ask for, and shares defenses such as never sharing personal information and never clicking on links to verify their bank accounts.

Clients who have been scammed, or even just suspect of being scammed, can get in touch with BDO by emailing customercare@bdo.com.ph. They can also log in Messenger, look for BDO Customer Care with the blue verified checkmark from Facebook, and chat with a bank representative.

BDO to online bankers: “Never share your OTPs!”

BDO Unibank, Inc. warns against scammers who are taking advantage of the enhanced community quarantine to trick people into giving their personal information, such as usernames, passwords, account numbers, and One-Time PINs (OTPs). Using this information, scammers take their victims’ identities, access their online bank accounts, and steal their hard-earned money.

Pretending to be bank officers, they communicate with accountholders over the phone, SMS, email, or even social media and urge them to verify their accounts or validate a transaction by sharing their personal information. Alarmed and anxious, many are victimized, especially those who are new to online banking.

BDO assures its clients that real bank officers will never ask for their personal information. One of the best defenses against scam, according to the bank, is never sharing OTPs with anyone.

Never share OTPs

OTPs provide another layer of protection for online bankers. They can be used once and only within a short span of time. The bank sends these unique six-character codes on two occasions: first, to complete a mobile number’s registration to BDO Online Banking, and second, to confirm an online transaction. 

Besides asking directly, scammers can obtain OTPs from a stolen phone. They can hack apps, which may have the owner’s banking details to make quick online transactions. The bank reminds its clients to report when their registered mobile devices are stolen or missing, so that it can detect unauthorized transactions from it.

Some scammers select their victims carefully. They gather their victims’ personal information first before attacking. Through a scheme called SIM swapping, they pretend to be the mobile owner and deceive a phone line carrier into giving out a new SIM card.

BDO advises clients, when they notice unusual activities on their mobile devices, to ask their telecommunication company to block their SIM number and for extra safety, freeze their bank accounts through customercare@bdo.com.ph or BDO Customer Care on Messenger.

Keep personal info private

With the community quarantine in place, many Filipinos are shifting to online banking to stay at home and safe from the virus. Through BDO Online Banking, clients can pay bills, send money, load up their prepaid mobile phones, and check account balances.

BDO encourages those who would like to bank online to visit its official website, click on “eBanking,” then “Online Banking,” then “Enroll Now.” An ATM activation code will be sent out via SMS after the application form is completed. This code will allow clients to confirm their enrollment at the nearest BDO ATM. 

COVID-19 did not stop scammers from doing what they do best; in fact, it has only fueled them to intensify their attacks. From pretending to be bank officers to staging coronavirus-related schemes, they continue to take a shot at unsuspecting accountholders.

BDO however, reiterates that for as long as clients do not share their personal information with anyone, including their OTPs when they bank online, they can beat scam attacks and protect their bank accounts.