BSP warns public anew on phishing and spoofing

CEBU, Philippines — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has cautioned the banking public anew to be wary against phishing and spoofing, fraud acts that are victimizing the banking community.

In an advisory, the central bank warned bank clients to be wary of emails that ask for their personal information such as username, password, account number, card number, CVV code, PIN and birthday.

The BSP said banks would not request these details through email.

Phishing is done when fraudsters get personal information from bank clients through legitimate-looking email and use it to illegally access their account. Spoofing is when fraudsters fool clients to click a link to a website that looks legitimate to get their account details.

According to BSP, fraud emails usually have a generic greeting, misspelling or bad grammar. These are usually unexpected and not typically received.

Moreover, fraud emails also link users to another website, which is possibly a spoof or fake website. These also do not give the full contact details of the sender.

"Don't take the bait," the central bank warned.

In case of being victimized, the BSP advised the public to verify or report the case to their bank immediately. They can also report such incidents to the central bank's consumer affairs.

Earlier, Cebu Bankers Club president Mario Fritz Palileo admitted that fraudulent activities continue to affect the banking community, saying fraud continues to be a pressing challenge in the industry.

It can be recalled BDO Unibank earlier said it noted an "extraordinary rise" in the number of fraud cases, including unauthorized withdrawals and purchases, during the last three months of 2017.

Amid these reported fraud cases, Palileo had urged bank clients to have their ATM cards converted to EMV technology to prevent from being hacked.

EMV is a global standard for chip-based credit and debit transactions and is deemed more secured than the magnetic stripe technology which had been used in most bank-issued cards in the country.

The chip-enabled cards also carry additional security layers and can carry a bigger amount of data than the magnetic stripe.

Palileo had said all banks have exerted effort to contact their existing cardholders to convert to EMV. (FREEMAN)