Have you gotten a text or email asking you to log in to your bank, e-wallet, or even social media accounts? Be careful because some of these could be scams.
Scammers often make fake websites that look a lot like real ones, especially websites that deal with money transactions. It goes without saying that you shouldn’t put your personal information, bank account information, or credit card information on a website that hasn’t been confirmed, but how can you tell if it’s fake?
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has given you some safety tips to follow when you’re linked to a shady website so you don’t fall into these kinds of traps.
BSP has said that you shouldn’t click on links in odd emails and texts.
Watch out for spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and language mistakes in the URL or web address. These are often found on fake websites.
For instance, www.bank.com in an email or text message may change to www.bank-com.ti when you click on it. In this situation, you shouldn’t use the login page.
Even if it looks like it’s real, it could be a scam. BSP says to use Blue Coat or Virus Total to find out if a website is real. Just copy the link and put it on those sites to check.
Think about this. A quick search on Google will show that BDO’s main website is bdo.com.ph, not bankodeoronetwork.com.
If the text or email says that it is important or pressing, you should check with the company to make sure that the website is real. You can do this by calling the number given to find out if the website is correct from a customer service person.
BSP said that if your account, credit card, e-wallet, or personal information has been stolen, you should tell your bank or e-wallet provider right away through legal channels.
You can also tell the National Bureau of Investigation or the Philippine National Police about scammers.
READ Digital Wallet Security Updates: How to Report a Cybercrime to PNP-ACG
If your bank or other financial company can’t help you with your problem, you can also report it to the BSP through one of the following ways:
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