The Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank) denied that its systems were hacked and that these remain secure.
The LandBank issued its statement late evening of Monday “following reports that alleged unauthorized transactions were experienced by two teachers who maintain payroll accounts” with the state-owned lender.
According to LandBank, its initial investigation revealed that the devices of the teachers were hacked via phishing, “which compromised their personal information.”
The bank said its personnel has already reached out to the affected customers and are “working on the resolution of these isolated cases at the soonest possible time.”
LandBank said it wants to assure customers that their accounts and personal information remain safe, “as the bank maintains the highest level of security in all its systems.”
NBI Probe
LAST Monday, Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra announced that the National Bureau of Investigation-Cybercrime Division (NBI-CD) would likely look into the reported phishing schemes that affected accounts of the teachers.
Guevarra issued a statement after the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition claimed it received a number of reports that some teachers lost as much as P121,000 each from their LandBank accounts.
Phishing involves the fraudulent practice of sending emails claiming to be from reputable companies to gain access to personal information of individuals, such as passwords and credit card numbers.
“The NBI is already looking into phishing of bank accounts on a broader scale,” Guevarra said .”But I am minded to issue a separate directive to the NBI in the case of the teacher victims.”
Equipment, reminder
EARLIER, the DOJ said the NBI is set to acquire state-of-the-art investigative and intelligence equipment in order to keep pace with cyber fraudsters, particularly those involved in various financial scams.
Last year, the NBI received more than 1,400 cyber-related complaints involving financial scams and other frauds and attacks.
Meanwhile, Landbank said it advises the public to remain vigilant against phishing scams and all other forms of online banking fraud. The lender also wants to remind 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,” the banks said.
To report fraudulent activities, Landbank said its customers may contact their respective handling branch, the lender’s customer care hotline or via e-mail at customercare@mail.landbank.com.