BSP warns vs bogus banks

MANILA, Philippines – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has raised the red flag and warned the public against the unauthorized banking activities of Global Investment Bank (GIB) or GIB Philippines Bank Limited (GPBL).

The BSP said yesterday GIB or GPBL has no certificate of authority to operate as a bank in the Philippines and is not licensed to accept deposits.

“In view of this, the BSP strongly advises the public not to transact with GIB or GPBL,” the central bank warned.

In its website (http://www.gibank.net), GIB or GPBL misrepresents itself to the public as a licensed bank in the Philippines authorized to carry out banking transactions for international activities.

It offers up to 4.58 percent per annum promotional interest rate for a minimum deposit of $5,000 with fixed tenure of up to 36 months.

GPBL said it submits a disclosure statement on a quarterly basis as mandated under the Reserve Bank of Philippines Act dated Sept. 12, 1989.

However, banks operating in the Philippines are regulated by the BSP.

The BSP also warned the public against fraudsters who mislead potential victims by providing a link in their website to a spoofed or fake BSP website created purposely to deceive and make it appear that it is listed as a BSP-supervised entity.

To make sure the correct website is accessed, the URL should be directly entered into the web browser instead of clicking links from unknown sources.

Moreover, the BSP reminded the public to remain vigilant and cautious in handling online financial transactions which should only be done on a secure, trusted and verified website.

A website is “secure” if there is an “https” in the URL and a closed padlock icon on the status or address bar of the browser. It is also prudent to avoid doing online financial transactions from Internet cafés or public computer terminals.

This will minimize the risk that sensitive information such as usernames and passwords are retained in the said terminals and eventually end up being used to conduct unauthorized transactions on behalf of the legitimate user.

Furthermore, the BSP advises everyone to avoid opening and to immediately delete unsolicited messages also known as spam or junk e-mails from strangers to avoid falling prey to these scammers.