LandBank: All systems are secured; teachers’ accounts hacked via phishing
MANILA, Philippines — The Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) has maintained that its systems are safe and secure despite reports of teachers losing around P26,000 to P121,000 from their payroll accounts with the said bank.
In a statement on Monday, LandBank said that their initial investigation shows the device of the teachers, and their personal information were compromised by way of phishing — a scheme wherein hackers pretend to be legitimate banking representatives to obtain confidential bank details from clients and use it to infiltrate their accounts.
“[Landbank] clarifies that its systems were not hacked and remain secure, following reports that alleged unauthorized transactions were experienced by two teachers who maintain payroll accounts with LandBank,” the LandBank explained.
“According to the initial investigation by LandBank, the devices of the teachers were hacked via phishing which compromised their personal information. The Bank has already reached out to the affected customers and is working on the resolution of these isolated cases at the soonest possible time,” it added.
Earlier, the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) said that some of its members have reported losing money after finding that the cash in their accounts had been transferred from their LandBank payroll accounts to other banks or electronic wallets.
The amounts taken were from either their regular salary and holiday bonuses or their lifetime savings.
According to one of the victims, he received a one-time password verification 13 times last November 12, 2021, and he reported these incidents to a LandBank branch. But on the next day, he found out that P121,000 had been taken from his LandBank account, and transferred to a digital wallet account.
Another teacher lost around P84,815 on December 30, after the money was also transferred to an electronic wallet account, and another bank account. TDC believes LandBank should also be held accountable for the loss of funds.
READ: Some teachers lose P26K to P121K each in alleged bank hacking — group
But LandBank maintained that their accounts and personal information are safe due to high security measures imposed by the system. Instead, what the bank advised is for people to remain alert and aware against phishing activities, which usually come in the guise of an e-mail from individuals pretending to be bank representatives.
LandBank also said that their official representatives would not ask for confidential details about the bank account.
“The Bank also advises the public to remain vigilant against phishing scams and all other forms of online banking fraud. Landbank reminds its customers to refrain from opening suspicious emails, links and attachments, and sharing your account and personal information. Official LandBank representatives will never ask for the critical financial information of customers,” it stressed.
“To report fraudulent activities, LandBank customers may contact their respective handling Branch or the Landbank’s Customer Care Hotline through (02) 8-405-7000 or 1-800-10-405-7000, or via email at [email protected],” it added.
