GMA, BPI launch info campaign vs online scams

GMA Network Inc., GMA New Media, Inc. and the Bank of the Philippine Islands launched an information campaign on Friday to prevent the public from falling victim to online scams.
 
The campaign, with a key message of “Maging listo, Huwag magpaloko," features GMA Sparkle artists Barbie Forteza, David Licauco, Martin del Rosario, Betong Sumaya, and Maey Bautista in three separate videos on how to spot tricks that scammers use to gain personal information and bank details of unsuspecting consumers.
 
The first video featured a couple played by Betong and Maey, who fell for the scam after they were offered a free trip, a higher credit card limit, and a waiver of the annual credit card fee by a supposed bank employee played by Martin.
 
The second video showed a gamer, played by David, who unwittingly shared his bank account details after clicking a link in a text message that was sent to him while he was busy playing an online game.
 
In the third video, Barbie plays the role of a content creator who fell victim to online fraud by clicking an ad that promised to increase followers and engagement on her social media page.

Videos starring Sparkle artists Barbie Forteza, David Licauco, Betong Sumaya, Maey Bautista & Martin del Rosario show how scammers victimizes public, from promising to increase followers, sending links while playing online games & giving "surprise" free trips to couples @gmanews pic.twitter.com/I3zwJGaIna

— Llanesca T. Panti (@llanescajourno) May 5, 2023

All videos reminded the public to never disclose their bank account information to anyone, not even someone posing as a bank employee.

“We cannot do this [initiative] ourselves. We need partners to get the word out and broadcast this to the widest audience persistently. That is why we are excited to have GMA, with its unparalleled reach and creative prowess, as a partner in our shared goal of making Filipinos resilient against online fraud and scams,” BPI Vice President, Enterprise Information Security Officer and Data Protection Officer Jonathan John Paz said during the launch event in Makati City.

“Cybersecurity is everyone’s responsibility,” BPI Chief Customer and Marketing Officer Catherine Santa Maria said, adding that “scammers are very intelligent, and they study people’s behaviors.”

“In our industry, integrity and truth are our currency. And these are being attacked by getting personal information and other data in financial scams that you see in our newscasts. We want to arm the audience with tools and information to discern fact from fake. We need to educate them how to stay safe online with a series of videos to help Filipinos build defenses against these cyberattacks,” GMA Vice President and Head of Corporate Affairs and Communications Angel Javier Cruz said.

For his part, Dennis Augusto Caharian, GMA New Media, Inc. President and Chief Operating Officer said, "With this partnership, we can arm individuals with ways to protect themselves from cyber threats and stay safe online and, in the long run, help create a culture of cybersecurity awareness that is essential in the digital age. It all starts with education."

The videos will be played on GMA’s free-to-air channels GMA-7 and GTV; on its digital channels Heart of Asia and I Heart Movies; and on the Kapuso Network's digital platforms.

BPI will showcase the videos on its official social media accounts and in its branches across the country. —VBL, GMA Integrated News