Pera ng 24 na public school teachers na biktima ng phishing pinababalik sa LBP

Ni NOEL ABUEL

Pinababalik ng isang kongresista sa Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) ang perang nawala sa 24 pampublikong guro na nabiktima ng phishing at mobile banking scams.

Ayon kay House Ways and Means chair at Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda, dapat tiyakin ng LBP na maibabalik sa mga biktima ang pera ng mga ito sa oras na matuklasang ang palpak na sistema nito ang dahilan kung kaya’t natangay ng mga sindikato ang pera ng mga nasabing guro.

“The BSP can release standards for what constitutes ‘the user’s fault’ and what qualifies as ‘the bank’s fault.’ Anything that counts as the ‘bank’s fault’ should be its liability to the user,” sabi ni Salceda.

“BDO promised to return funds, although I called them out for reports of requiring quitclaims of its account holders. The Landbank, as a state bank, has to set the industry example by promising to return the funds and making its systems less vulnerable,” dagdag nito.   

Iginiit pa ni Salceda, dapat na mas paigtingin pa ng mga awtoridad ang cybersecurity laban sa phishing attacks at iba pang uri ng mobile banking scams na nambiktima sa mga nasabing mga public school teachers na nagreklamo na may unauthorized transactions na nangyari sa accounts ng mga ito sa LBP.

“It’s alarming because just as the BSP is about to conclude its ongoing investigation into phishing attacks last Christmas season, the criminals behind it appear to have shifted their attention towards a different bank. That means the problem isn’t just a case of one bank or another being negligent. I have no doubt these banks can do better, but the modus also appears to be very similar, and the destination accounts used also happen to be in similar banks,” sabi ni Salceda.

“It’s even more alarming because the Landbank is the main government depository, and the vast majority of public sector employees have their hard-earned salary banked there,” aniya pa.

Bilang paunang solusyon, ipinanukala ni Salceda na gawin ang bank withdrawals at transfers sa mga “registered devices” lamang.

“It appears to me that the scammers are somehow able to use other devices to transfer funds from the accounts to other accounts. I think the simplest fix is to limit access to remote banking accounts to devices that the account holder registered with the bank. That already closes the door to remote hacking of accounts. They have to get to your phone or to your computer to make unauthorized transfers,” paliwanag ni Salceda.