BDO probes suspicious bank account withdrawals, purchases

The Banco de Oro (BDO) Unibank on Tuesday night said it has launched an investigation following reports of suspicious bank account transactions withdrawals and purchases this month.

"We are currently running a thorough investigation process that involves tracing individual transactions, checking any irregularities and identifying signals of fraud from millions of valid transactions everyday," BDO said in a statement posted on its Facebook account.

"This challenging task is done to ensure that all cases are addressed accordingly, and that a resolution is served for all valid cases," it added.

Netizen Michicko Marzo on January 6 shared several photos of "victims" of unauthorized bank transactions of their BDO accounts.

In its statement, BDO admitted that "there has been an increased number of clients that have experienced suspicious bank account transactions involving withdrawals and purchases done without their knowledge" in recent months.

It added that in the last quarter of 2017, there was an "extraordinary rise in fraud attacks" in the entire banking industry "with an increase in the number of claims for unauthorized transactions taking place in other countries."

The company said its affected account holders should formally file a report via email (callcenter@bdo.com.ph) or call its international toll free number (IAC +800-8-631-8000) and domestic hotline (631-8000).

The BDO advised its clients to keep their account information private and "be mindful of people requesting for your personal account details through phone, SMS, email, or websites."

"Unscrupulous individuals and groups are constantly preying on unsuspecting clients to collect their bank information through skimming, phishing, social engineering, and other devious ways," it added. —ALG, GMA News