NBI, BSP observed 100% spike in phishing schemes amid ECQ –IATF

As the majority of Filipinos rely on online banking in the face of the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine, phishing schemes have increased to 100%, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said Saturday.

“The National Bureau of Investigation-Cybercrime Division and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas report a 100% increase in phishing,” Nograles, who sits as the spokesperson of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging and Infectious Diseases, said in a morning briefing.

Thus Nograles urged everyone "to be cautious with their bank details."

“Bali ang modus operandi ng phishing ay may mga taong magpapanggap na empleyado sila ng banko mo at hihingin nila ang detalye ng account mo tulad ng account number at password,” Nograles said.

“Huwag niyo pong ibigay ‘yang mga ‘yan. Hindi po hihingin ng bangko niyo yan kahit kailanan kahit sa anong pagkakataon,” he pointed out.

Philippines’ largest bank BDO Unibank earlier warned its clients against a scheme luring bank account holders to verify their accounts by clicking on a link. 

The account verification scam leads clients to click on a website that “looks exactly like a bank’s official website.”

On the fake website, scammers trick clients into divulging their personal information such as account numbers, credit card information, online banking login details like usernames and passwords, and One-Time PINs (OTP).

Nograles also advised the public to be cautious in giving donations because “may mga nagpapanggap na kasapi sa mga respetadong institusyon.”

He urged the public to report to the NBI any scams through the following numbers:

• 0917-189-3100 (Globe)
• 0961-734-9450 (Smart)
• 0975-153-9146 (for WhatsApp and Telegram)
• 02-852-40237 (Landline)

—Ted Cordero/LBG, GMA News