BDO 'processing' reimbursements of 700 hacked accounts

MANILA, Philippines — BDO Unibank Inc. announced it is now processing the reimbursement of close to 700 clients who lost their money to an online fraud.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Sy-led lender said it would shoulder losses resulting from the fraudulent transactions, which happened amid the Christmas shopping season.

The bank’s latest statement came days after clients posted on social media their harrowing experiences and flooded BDO with hacking complaints. Some clients say they lost as much as P50,000.

“We have requested our clients to go to their branch of account and submit documentation to get the refund. The Bank will shoulder the losses perpetuated by this cybercrime incident,” BDO said.

BDO, the country’s largest lender in terms of assets, said it is coordinating with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to prevent “further occurrence.” So far, it is still unknown the total amount of cash that BDO would return to affected clients and if the bank would face sanctions from the BSP.

Both BDO and regulators have also yet to report how the hackers managed to successfully steal money from clients. Nestor Tan, the bank’s president, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer over the weekend that the incident “affects a 10-year old web service that is for phase out.”

“Investigation is still ongoing,” BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi Fonacier said in a text message.

“Definitely, the BSP is looking at the root cause of why it happened which is part of the investigation,” she added.