Are you an online bank user? How do you protect yourself from online scams? Your money can easily be taken by a hacker or scammer if you are not securing your account. So, this article will help you to avoid such incident by knowing some safety measures, joining only to legit promos, reporting suspicious accounts, accessing only the official bank platforms and not sharing personal information.
Disclaimer: Everything that found in this work are not professional advice. Ideas and insights come from the author's knowledge, observation and experience only. The author and the site (the read.cash) as the publisher shall not be held liable or responsible for any misunderstanding or misuse of the information in this article.
Account Protection
It is for safety reason that we put our money in a bank. But due to the advanced technology and opportunist scammer, our money can easily disappear from our accounts. With this, let us protect our online bank accounts by not sharing our account information. Here are the account information that we should consider not to share to anyone even to the bank officials or representatives.
Username and Password
A bank may require a username and a password to access your online bank account and its services. You create username and password when you sign up with the bank mobile app or website.
A username is a unique name or nickname that you create when registering to online banking.
A password is a unique combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers and/or special characters.
Username and password are important when signing up a bank account. It is your gateway to access and update your account and avail the bank services.
Important: Create a username that you can easily remember; you can combine letters, numbers and special characters. For password, always make a strong one so that no one can easily guess it. If you keep it in a piece of paper, make sure that no one can access it.
Mobile Number and Email Address
Instead of username, a bank may require a mobile number or email address and a password to access your online bank account and its services.
Mobile number and/or email address are important when signing up a bank account. It is your gateway to know the latest updates from your bank via SMS or email inbox. Updates may include announcement, promotions, transction summary, OTP, temporary password when resetting your password, etc.
Important: Always use active mobile number and email address only. Update your bank information like mobile number and email address when you change contact details or when necessary.
Account Number and Account Name
An account number is a series of more or less twelve-digit numbers generated or provided by your bank as the main identifier of your account.
An account name is usually your full name which can be seen in your bank card.
Your account number is given to you after applying for a savings account in the branch of a certain bank. If you are applying for a bank account with the digital bank like ING, CIMB and other digibank, you can see your account number in the mobile bank app.
Important: When sending or receiving money, you can give your account number and account name but make it sure that you are transacting a legit and trusted transaction only. When sending money, make sure to cover your account number and name in the transaction details if necessary. The details to be sent to the recipient after sending are the amount transferred, the transaction date and reference number only.
MPIN, OTP, Debit Card PIN and CVV Code
An MPIN is a mobile pin which consists of four-digit numbers to unlock your mobile bank app when you login your bank account.
You have the sole responsibility of remembering or memorizing this four-digit pin. Always keep it in mind.
An OTP is a one-time pin which consists of six-digit numbers sent to you via SMS or email when you make a transaction in your online bank account.
It is sent to you to verify your transaction. Example: when you are sending money to a family member or anyone, you need to verify it by entering the six-digit pin. After entering the OTP, your send money transaction will now be successfully transferred.
Note: Sending money via Instapay is instant while via PesoNet depends on the receiving bank's clearing time. Usually clearing time is 5 pm or onwards within the day if transaction is done before 3 pm but if transaction is done after 3 pm, it will reflect on the receiving bank by 5 pm or onwards the next banking day. If the next day is weekend or holiday, it will reflect on the receiving bank by 5 pm or onwards the next banking day.
A Debit Card PIN is usually a six-digit numbers given to you by the bank in a perforated paper which is only can have an access. It is actually a temporary pin that you need to change it immediately via the ATM.
It is used when you have an ATM transactions like balance inquiry, withdraw cash and other bank services.
A CVV refers to Card Verification Value or security code which consists of three-digit numbers. It can be found usually at the back of your bank card. When you are making a credit or debit card transaction, your unique code is required to complete the transaction.
Since debit and credit cards are mainly used for online transactions, those payment gateways are not allowed to save any information about the CVV number of a cardholder. It is even against data security.
Important: Always keep in mind of your MPIN. Don't choose your birthyear (e.g. 1988, 1998, 2018) or birthmonth and day (e.g. 0214, 0828, 1231) as an MPIN. For OTP, ATM pin and CVV, make sure not to share it to anyone to avoid compromising your account.
Promo Alert
Are you fond of joining promos for a chance to earn a reward or cashback? There are banks that run a promotion for their clients to earn exciting rewards. But, how can you be sure that you are really joining the legit promotions? How do you know that the promo you are joining is not fake? What are the channels that a bank informs you about their promos? Here are the channels where to get information about promo offers of any bank.
Through Text
A bank may send you a text message regarding their promos.
As seen in the screenshot above, ING bank sent me a text message regarding their cashback program.
ING is a pure digital bank. They are operating online only, not even have physical branches.
Please take note that if you are receiving a text message from your bank, the sender name must not be a regular mobile number but rather a name of the bank. Just like in the screenshot above, the sender name is ING. It cannot even be replied to.
Via Email
A bank may send you an email regarding their promos.
As seen in the screenshot above, AUB sent me an email message regarding their discount promo.
HelloMoney is an ewallet by AUB or Asia United Bank which allows you to perform banking transactions like sending and receiving money, paying bills, buying load, etc.
Social Media
Since Social Media is the most effective way to reach clients, a bank may post their offers and promos through their Social Media page.
Make sure to get updates only from official Social Media page of your bank.
You may find the List of Banks' Official Social Media Pages later in this article
Their Website
Mostly, banks also post their offers and promos through their official website.
As seen in the screenshot above, ING publishes their promos through their website. Be updated with their promos by visiting this link.
You may find the List of Banks' Official Websites later in this article.
Important: Do not be fooled with text or email messages informing you about bank offers or promos which comes from a regular mobile number or fake bank email address. If you receive such information via SMS, just disregard or do not entertain. You better block the number or email address as spam. Don't be the next victim of scam.
You must follow only the official page with a blue badge. A blue badge represents as a verified account.
Suspicious Accounts
Have you been texted, called, emailed or even chatted by unfamiliar person who claims to be from bank? How did you deal with the situation? Did you disregard it? Have you been trapped in the hands of scammer? In this section you'll find the things that you can do or avoid the fraudulent acts of scammers like phising, vishing, hacking, etc.
But before that let's have some terms to define and understand.
Phishing - a scam done by sending emails claiming as bank representatives and asking you to click a link or button which lead you to a fake login site of your bank. Once you enter your login details, a scammer can now have access to your account and it's now easy for them to steal your information and your money.
Vishing (Voice Phising) - a scam done via phone calls claiming as bank representatives and asking for your bank information.
Those are just few of the many scams that are rampant nowadays. So, what you gonna do now when the opportunist scammer attempts to get your information? Find out below.
Do Not Click
Never click suspicious links from SMS, email or chat. See to it that the link you are visiting is the official website of your bank. A scammer may use a fake link that leads you to login your account but it's actually a trap which a scammer or hacker collects your details to access your online bank account and get all your hard earned money. This scam is known as phishing.
You may find the List of Banks' Official Websites later in this article.
Report the Incident
If you encounter suspicious activity from your bank account, you may report it directly to your bank or to the BSP or Bagko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Visit your bank branch or through their contact page found on their website. For BSP, just visit www.bsp.gov.ph.
You may also report it to the nearest NBI office in your area.
Find out from these videos the hacking incident of a Filipino Senator's credit card.
Hacker orders P1-M worth of food using Filipino senator's credit card | ANC
Gatchaliam seeks NBI help to probe credit card hacking | INQUIRER.net
Hacker na gumamit sa credit card ni Sen. Gatchalian timbog | TV Patrol
(The hacker who used credit card of Senator Gatchalian arrested)
Keep in Mind
Always keep in mind that bank officials or representatives will never ask for your account information. So, never share your account or card details, login details and contact details.
Important: Always be vigilant of fraudulent attempts to steal your bank information through text messages, email messages, phone calls or chat.
Official Platforms
To avoid from the trap of a hacker or scammer, always access only the official platforms of your bank.
List of Banks' Official Websites
Please see below the official websites of different Banks in the Philippines.
Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company
Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI)
Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP)
Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC)
List of Banks' Official Social Media Pages
Please see below the official pages of different Banks in the Philippines.
Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) on Facebook
Land Bank of the Philippines on Facebook
Philippine National Bank on Facebook
Security Bank Corporation on Facebook
China Banking Corporation on Facebook
Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) on Facebook
Union Bank of the Philippines on Facebook
Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) on Facebook
The above list of bank websites and Social Media pages are just few of the many banks in the Philippines. For other banks, you may search for it on the internet. These platforms are official and don't be confused with the scammer's trick to a fake website or page. You can also find in their website or page the contact details like email address, hotline numbers or other social channels where you can raise your concern or complaint.
Personal Information
Aside from what we discussed in this article, there are other information that you should not share especially on Social Media. Here are these important details not to divulge in your posts.
Card Details
Your card details if known by a scammer, it may be used for any online activity without your knowledge. The front portion of your card may include your sixteen-digit card number, account number, account name and card validity. While the back portion may include your signature and the three-digit CVV.
Transaction Summary
A transaction summary shows your bank activity that can be used for illegal online activity. Usually, a transaction summary may include your account number, account name, date of transaction, amount transferred or received, etc.
Valid IDs
Your valid ID bears important details that can be used for fraudulent activity. A valid ID includes your personal details like your full name, residential address, birthday, ID number and other essential details.
Contact Info
Your contact number and email address in your Social Media account can be hidden in profile. It can be done through your account settings.
All the details mentioned above are important details when making an online (online purchase, money transfer, etc.) or even offline transactions (ATM withdrawal, etc.). For your protection and also for data privacy, never share all these details in your Social Media account.
Important: So, always be vigilant of fraudulent attempts to steal your bank information and also your personal information through text messages, email messages, phone calls or chat.
Final Thoughts
All the information you have in your bank account and personal information are important. Do not allow anyone to access all your information. So, never share all your bank details, trust only the official announcement of bank promos, report all scamming and hacking activities, visit only the official channels of your bank and never share your personal information. It's better to be safe in advance than to be sorry later.
I hope this article helps you to become protected as an online bank user. Through this article, you have known the safety measures in handling your money through your bank account, the legit announcement of bank promos, the things you need to do with suspicious accounts, the list of official banks' websites and Social Media pages and lastly, the personal information you should not divulge.
"The advantage of online banking is that you can pay bills superfast, and your account is automatically credited or debited for each deposit and payment, making it easier to stay on track." - Suze Orman
"I trust online banking. You know why? Because if somebody hacks into my account and defrauds my credit card company, or my online bank account, guess who takes the loss? The bank, not me." - Kevin Mitnick
Author's Note
Please understand that I do not hold any position or receive any monetary compensation from any bank or entity mentioned in this article.
About the Author
Just call me Frank. Exploring cryptocurrency since 2015 is my enthusiasm and writing since I was young is my passion while helping others in whatever way that I can is always my heart's desire.
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This is very vital and nice write up and recommendation. Now I know how to secure my money away from the smamers.