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The National Telecommunications Commission warned watching public to withold any information to anyone offering job, it is scam.
LandBank to join NBI probe into alleged phishing victimizing teachers
By Creselda Canda-Lopez
“The Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) is welcoming impending investigation by National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on alleged phishing schemes victimizing teachers, following Department Order issued by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for NBI to immediately intervene on the matter,” the LandBank president and CEO Cecilia Borromeo said in a statement the agency welcomes probe of NBI into alleged phishing scam victimized teachers, and assured it will fully cooperate in the investigation.
“We will actively participate in this investigation and extend full cooperation to NBI with end in mind of further securing our depositors’ hard-earned money,” Borromeo said.
Borromeo said bank is also conducting its own investigation.
She also said LandBank is coordinating with Department of Education (DepEd) for list of teachers reportedly victimized in the alleged scam.
“We are also reaching out to affected teachers and conducting an internal investigation on their complaints,” Borromeo said.
The DOJ has directed NBI to conduct an investigation and case build-up on the alleged phishing schemes against teachers.
In a department order, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra also authorized Officer-in-Charge Eric Distor to file appropriate charges against those found responsible if evidence warrants.
Distor was also directed to submit report on the progress of the subject investigation and case build-up directly to the Office of the Justice Secretary within 30 days.
This came after Teachers’ Dignity Coalition said it received a number of reports claiming teachers lost as much as P121,000 each from their LandBank accounts.
LandBank denied that its systems were hacked, as it clarified supposed unauthorized transactions by two teachers were due to phishing schemes.
GCash, operated by Globe Fintech Innovations Inc. (Mynt), is looking into reports of e-wallets supposedly at the receiving end of stolen money from accounts of teachers with LandBank.
Borromeo earlier assured public of security of Landbank’s systems.
“meantime, we assure our clients and the general public that LANDBANK’s systems remain stable and secured,” She said.
Part of the security measures implemented is use of one-time passwords (OTPs) when using Landbank mobile banking app or iAccess, the bank said.
It then advised clients with outdated mobile numbers linked to their online banking accounts to update their contact number with Landbank.
They can do this by going to iAccess website, downloading and filling out enrollment form, and sending the same to their branch together with copy of valid ID. “They may also use self-service option found in iAccess to update their iAccess profile,” the bank said.
LandBank reminded public to be vigilant against phishing scams and other forms of banking fraud.
It asked public not to open suspicious emails, links and attachments, not to share account and personal information.
LandBank Chief Corporate Communications officer Chito Maniago warned that the firm is prepared to take action against accounts in violation of regulations.
“We are currently investigating the issue and since our operations are fully automated and traceable, we are ready to take appropriate action against accounts that have received illicit funds,” he said in an emailed statement.
GCash noted that under Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2021, those found guilty of “money mule” scams can face up to seven years of imprisonment and a fine of P3 million.
The statement was released after Teachers’ Dignity Coalition said it received reports claiming that teachers lost as much as P121,000 each from their LandBank accounts, which were then transferred to accounts in other financial institutions such as GCash.
GCash has since called on users to be vigilant of phishing messages or suspicious calls which may dupe them into releasing sensitive data about their GCash accounts.
“We will never ask for your MPIN (mobile pin) or OTP (one-time passwords), nor will we ask you to share it with anyone…account safety and security is shared responsibility between GCash and its users, we appeal to our customers and the general public to always practice digital diligence and be wary of people posing as financial institutions as well as websites, messages, or links asking users of sensitive information” Maniago said.
DepEd earlier said yet to receive formal incident reports on the issue, but it is working with its field offices to validate such claims.
For its part, LandBank denied that its systems were hacked, and clarified supposed unauthorized transactions involving accounts of two teachers were “isolated cases” of phishing schemes.
LandBank advised customers to contact their branch or customer care hotline at (02) 8-405-7000 or 1-800-10-405-7000, or via email at customercare@mail.landbank.com to report fraudulent activities.
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