E-wallet use grew significantly during the pandemic and this is perhaps the reason why many SMEs survived and even thrived in 2020-2022, at the height of the pandemic.
Before the pandemic, 7 out of 10 online transactions were settled in cash, either through cash on delivery and over-the-counter (via Palawan Pawnshop, Lhuillier, and others). Today, only 5 out of 10 (perhaps even more) are settled in cash. Sadly, this progress came at a steep price. With more and more people using e-wallet apps, scammers have become more creative and they have multiplied.
E-wallet app GCash is helping to protect its users from account takeovers with a new security feature called DoubleSafe. This is a good move because there are so many users whose accounts have been invaded by fraudsters. Young people on social media are particularly vulnerable to scams because most of them only have GCash.
DoubleSafe helps prevents unauthorized account access. Before DoubleSafe, GCash already required two levels of authentication or two-factor authentication. The first level of security is the OTP (one-time PIN), a unique number combination sent only to the user’s mobile number. The second level of authentication is the MPIN (mobile PIN) which is a four-digit passcode that only the customer or GCash owner should know.
Starting March 2023, GCash will require all users to activate DoubleSafe for an additional layer of security to their account. DoubleSafe will be activated for every first login to a new mobile phone with the feature making use of facial recognition, which means that even if a user mistakenly shares their MPIN and OTP to fraudsters, the account cannot be accessed from another device without scanning the owner’s face. So unless it’s your identical twin trying to gain access to your account, DoubleSafe should be foolproof. GCash is also working with the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group to go after those who commit fraud and scam GCash users.
GCash is also intensifying its GSafeTayo campaign through a series of awareness and education materials that will help customers identify and avoid fake sellers, suspicious links, as well as other common online scams.
The GSafe campaign also has some reminders for the public:
- Don’t open unfamiliar links, whether it is in an e-mail or a text message. GCash has stopped sending links via SMS, email, and other messaging apps.
- Never share personal information with people you don’t know. GCash only reaches out to its users through official channels and the company’s representatives will never ask for MPINs and OTPs.
- Double-check everything before buying anything online. Deals that are too good to be true often are. Make sure e-commerce websites on social media platforms are legitimate. Even the biggest platforms are being duplicated by scammers.
To report scams and other suspicious activities, users can go to the the GCash Help Center via the GCash app or at help.gcash.com, Chat with Gigi, and choose “I want to report a scam.”
A NEW KOREAN DRAMA ON DISNEY+
WHEN the going gets tough, there is no better pick-me-up than an over-the-top Korean drama. An example of such a drama would be The Penthouse: War in Life, which was so explosive that everything seemed unrealistic—and I mean that in the best way possible.
Some people got tired of The Penthouse after a while because one of the characters would seem to die in the most violent manner but would seem to be resurrected in the next episode as if nothing happened. Everyone was a schemer and had an ulterior motive. Things were so dramatic to the point that the drama became campy. I actually enjoyed the episodes because it got to a point that I had to suspend my disbelief and just took things as they came.
Another similar Korean drama, Pandora: Beneath the Paradise, started streaming recently on Disney+ and it stars Lee Ji-ah, who was also in The Penthouse. In Pandora, Lee Ji-ah plays Hong Tae-ra, a woman who seems to have the perfect life but has no memory of her past. Pyo Jae-hyun (Lee Sang-yoon) is Hong Tae-ra’s husband. He is a rich and successful developer whose company Hatch developed new technology in the neural smart patch field. He is so admired that in the first episode, we see a political party urging him to run for president.
In the drama, Hong Tae-ra struggles as she tries to make sense of her past and take revenge on those responsible for what happened to her.
The other stars of Pandora are Jang Hee-jin (Flower of Evil, The Red Sleeve) as Go Hae-soo, the YBC’s top anchor and Hong Tae-ra’s friend; Park Ki-woong (Secretly Greatly, Bridal Mask) as Jang Do-jin, the second son of the Kumjo group; and Bong Tae-gyu (The Penthouse: War in Life, Return) as Koo Sung-chan, the director of Hatch’s research center.
Not surprisingly Pandora: Beneath the Paradise is created by Kim Sun-ok, the screenwriter behind The Penthouse: War in Life and Return, and is directed by Choi Yonghoon (One the Woman, Good Casting).
The treatment of The Penthouse and Pandora are very different in that the former is campier while the latter is more serious.
Produced by CJ ENM’s production powerhouse Studio Dragon, Pandora: Beneath the Paradise is on Disney+ with new episodes released every Saturday and Sunday. At presstime, there are four episodes already and two more will be released this weekend. That’s a decent number of episodes to start catching up. Episode 4 starts with Go Hae-soo’s past where her mother committed suicide after her father’s death and she too wanted to give up on life. It was Hong Tae-ra who encouraged her and gave her hope. For context, Go Hae-soo’s father was killed by an unknown assasin.
Back to the present: Go Hae-soo finds it difficult to believe that Hong Tae-ra is the assassin known as No. 50. But when she sees her friend with Kim Seon-deok (played by Shim So-young), she has no choice but to believe this. Kim Seon-deok tells Hong Tae-ra that Jang Geum-mo (played by Ahn Nae-sang) is the one behind the assassination of Go Hae-soo’s father. Logically, Hang Geum-mo should also be the one behind Hong Tae-ra’s changed identity.
Is the series worth watching? It’s still on Episode 4 and I am waiting for more dramatic and exciting moments but so far, I am liking Pandora.
