Fortify systems vs digital thievery, Poe tells banks

MANILA, Philippines — Banks and financial institutions should “fortify” their systems to prevent users from falling victim to “digital thievery,” Senator Grace Poe said Tuesday.

“More people turning to online transactions amid the pandemic should not drive the uptick in hacking activities and other attempts at digital thievery,” Poe, who chairs the Senate banks committee, said in a statement.

“We expect banks and concerned financial institutions to fortify their systems to thwart emboldened threats and security breaches,” she added.

Poe issued the statement after some teachers lost thousands when their Landbank accounts were allegedly hacked.

In a statement, Landbank said the teachers fell victim to a phishing scam despite the bank’s “safe” systems.

“We ask the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to furnish the Senate committee on banks, financial institutions and currencies copies of the results of its investigations including on the recent BDO Unibank incident,” Poe went on.

She was referring to the online banking fraud that hit clients of BDO Unibank Inc. in December 2021.

Poe then stressed the need for an “intensified” coordination between the government, the banks as well as the public.

“Intensified collaboration is crucial among the government, banks and our people in taking the necessary measures to protect financial consumers from becoming victims of these cybercrimes,” she said.

“Our people’s hard-earned money entrusted in banks must at all times be secure,” she added.

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