BDO lists ways to outsmart scammers

MANILA, Philippines — BDO Unibank Inc. is urging the banking public to continue to outsmart scammers.

In a security tip, the country’s largest bank said clients should never post documents with their full name, birthday, and other information that scammers can use to answer security questions on social media.

The annual report by research agencies Hootsuite and We Are Social showed that most Filipinos spend four hours and 15 minutes on social media each day.

This record not only bested the Philippines’ own  average of three hours and 53 minutes in 2019, but also the global average of two hours and 25 minutes in 2020.

“With this much time spent on social media, BDO Unibank cautions the general public to be careful of the information they share. Scammers lurk online to steal personal information, which they use to access online bank accounts and steal money. They can also use it to open new bank accounts,” the bank said.

The bank, owned by the family of the late retail tycoon Henry Sy, said clients should reconsider sharing their full names, birthdays, education background, employment and other personal information.

BDO said clients should also adjust their privacy settings and choose those who can see their information and posts.

Likewise, the  bank urged clients to only add people they know who can see their posts about personal moments like birthday celebrations, family photos or professional achievements.

“BDO encourages clients to report suspicious incidents to [email protected], or get in touch with its representatives by logging into Messenger and looking for BDO Customer Care with the blue verified checkmark from Facebook,” the bank said.