GCash officials have finally made a public statement to explain the glitch incident and stressed that it was not a hacking incident but a mere coordinated or massive phishing activity.
See the entire copy of their explanation below:
OFFICIAL STATEMENT
We have been in constant coordination with the authorities and regulatory bodies like the
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and National Privacy Commission (NPC) in providing the
necessary information required of us.We reiterate that there was no hacking nor glitch that occurred in the GCash platform. The
incident last 8 May 2023, was a deliberate phishing attempt that happened outside of the
GCash app. Some users may have unknowingly shared their information to suspicious sites
masked as legitimate brands or institutions. Upon detection of these unusual transactions,
GCash immediately activated security protocols, and deployed its preventive security measures.
This swift action enabled us to mitigate the impact to our customers, which was why we were
able to correct their e-wallet balances immediately within 24 hours.We placed the app on extended preventive maintenance in order to ensure we’ve exerted all
means necessary to mitigate the impact of this incident.Majority of our customers put their hard-earned money on GCash and rely on it for their
everyday transactions. No preventive measures are too much if it is meant to protect all
hardworking customers that placed their trust on GCash.These proactive efforts actually help deter more users from being victimized by these illegal
phishing activities.These measures are in compliance with global cybersecurity standards and in line with our
commitment as a financial services provider regulated by the BSP.We remain steadfast in ensuring the protection of our customers’ funds and data as we
continue to invest in the latest cybersecurity technologies and capabilities. In partnership with
the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG) and the Cybercrime
Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), we
continue to intensify efforts in going after scammers and fraudsters.We enjoin the NPC in reinforcing efforts to educate everyone on the importance of being
vigilant in securing their personal information.The safety and security of all our customers remain our topmost priority. We will not stop
working with the authorities as we endeavor to eliminate fraudsters as our common enemy.
To safeguard your information, we remind everyone to transact only through our official
channels and remember that GCash will NEVER send personal messages to address concerns or
ask for your MPIN, OTP or other personal information.###
For more information, please contact:
Gilda Maquilan
VP and Head of Corporate Communications
GCash
Email Address: [email protected] ¦ Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gcashofficial
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