The National Bureau of Investigation has summoned officials of Metrobank and Globe Telecom to shed light into an apparent scam involving the unauthorized switching of a mobile phone SIM card used in online commerce transaction.
A woman lost cash to the tune of some PhP40,000 in her bank account that she had been using for electronic transactions.
It appeared that the SIM card of her mobile phone was swapped by a third party without her knowledge, and which was then used to gain access to her bank account through the online banking facility.
According to Globe Telecom, its business offices adhere to established procedures with regard to the replacement of SIM cards, but, individual customers take upon themselves the ultimate responsibility of ensuring their online privacy and security.
For its part, Metrobank assured that it values “the relationship we have with our customers and their needs and concerns are always our priority. We make sure that all complaints undergo thorough investigation and we take it as our responsibility to resolve issues and restitute conclusively-proven fraud. For customers who already
raised concerns with us, we are always in constant communication with them throughout the investigation and we are open to dialogue until the matter is resolved.”
The bank issued three tips, as follows:
Be wary of emails and sites asking for personal or account information. NEVER fill out any form being requested by these sites.
Hover your mouse/cursor on the link to view the destination URL. DO NOT CLICK if address is suspicious.
Ensure your antivirus is updated BEFORE connecting to the internet.
(Reportage: Beverly Natividad)