BSP coordinating with BDO to ensure hack victims are reimbursed

MANILA, Philippines (Updated 3:53 p.m.) — Amid stories of hacked Banco de Oro accounts circulating social media, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on Sunday assured Filipinos that it was coordinating with the bank to ensure that affected clients are reimbursed. 

This comes as account holders began reporting unauthorized transactions on social media. Some accounts say they lost as much as P50,000 without their knowledge. 

"The BSP has been monitoring the surge in complaints posted in social media platforms since the early part of this week," BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said in a tweet Sunday morning. 

"We are in close coordination with BDO as well as UBP on this incident to ensure that remedial measures are being undertaken, including reimbursement of affected consumers."

including reimbursement of affected consumers.

Rest assured that we continue to collaborate and engage stakeholders to ensure the safety and integrity of the financial system as well as the protection of financial consumers.

— Benjamin Diokno (@GovBenDiokno) December 12, 2021

Affected clients of the bank have since created a Facebook group called "Mark Nagoyo BDO hacked." The group has since amassed some 700 members as of this post. 

"At 12:30pm, I received a text from BDO that 50,025 was debited from my account. 30 minutes after, I received an email confirmation of the transaction. I did not initiate nor authorize the transfer," one Ellard Chua wrote on a viral Facebook post. "Clearly, there’s a problem with BDO Online Banking. I hope they can fix it soon."

'Looking into each of the cases'

In a separate statement, BDO Unibank said it had already been informed on the concerns and assured clients that it was "looking into each of the cases." It also began prompting users to update their login credentials with a pop-up notification on its mobile app.

"[N]ever share login information like username and password, and OTP. For added protection and security, clients are encouraged to regularly change the passwords of their online bank account," the bank said. 

In a statement issued later Sunday afternoon, Bankers Association of the Philippines President Jose Arnulfo Veloso urged Filipinos to be "even more vigilant in the light of the rising number of cybercrime incidents around us."

"You will never be a victim of cybercrime if you would never give your personal information, such as One-Time Password, to other people. If you do not give your personal information to others, cybercriminals will never be able to steal your money," he said.

"Read the newspapers, follow your banks on Facebook, and watch your favorite social media influencers to know how to be safe while banking online."

Veloso also urged the public to report instances of cybercrime to their banks and to the police.

"[W]e can work together to take down cybercriminals, such as the fake bank websites they are using to trick others," he said.

"Taking down cybercriminals does not just benefit you, but also other people as these criminals will no longer be able to harm them." — with reports from Ian Nicolas Cigaral