Bayan Muna solons seek probe on recent online banking fraud

MANILA, Philippines — Three lawmakers are seeking a House investigation into the reported “widespread fraudulent online bank withdrawal” that affected some clients of BDO Unibank.

Bayan Muna Reps. Eufemia Cullamat, Carlos Zarate, and Ferdinand Gaite sought the probe through House Resolution No. 2405, which they filed on Monday.

“As representatives of the people, Congress should protect the welfare of the Filipino people against these fraudulent activities, especially amid the pandemic and economic crisis,” they said in their resolution.

The lawmakers also stressed the need for banking industry members to impose “more” protective measures to ensure that the interest of the public and the integrity of bank transactions are upheld.

“More than the admission of the occurrence of security breach or fraud and pursuing reactive measures, the members of the banking industry, as well as the BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas), should put in place more protective measures and policies to protect the interest of the public and the integrity of the banking transactions,” they said.

“Moreover, in the immediate, there is a need for speedy reimbursements of the affected consumers of their lost hard-earned money,” the lawmakers added.

Over the weekend, BDO Unibank assured its clients affected by reported unauthorized transactions made in their online bank accounts that losses will be reimbursed.

In a statement, the BDO said it is aware of a “sophisticated fraud technique” that has affected some of its clients.

The bank management also said that it has already implemented additional security measures to block further attempts for unauthorized transactions and to protect bank credentials.

According to social media posts of some victims, fund transfers from BDO clients were sent to a UnionBank account of a certain “Mark Nagoyo.”

A public group named “Mark Nagoyo BDO Hacked,” now with over 2,200 members, has been created following the incidents.

BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno, for his part, said they are already coordinating with BDO and UnionBank regarding the matter.

je