There is a steady rise in online fraud in banking, a report by the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNPACG) said.

Because of this trend, Metrobank is reminding clients to be very wary of emails being sent to them, especially those containing Coronavirus-related content.

According to the September 2017 Webroot Quarterly Threat Trends Report , 1.5 million phishing sites are created globally each month. These phishing sites enable fraudsters to trick users into divulging their private and bank details, such as their username, password, One Time Password (OTP), and other banking details. The report said that Filipinos are more likely to fall prey to these types of scams.

Whenever you receive an email from your bank, always check the Email Security Zone. This contains important information that only you and your bank knows (e.g. your card and account number). Use this to verify if the email is a scam or a legitimate one.

COVID-19 Scams

Fraudsters have seized the opportunity to manipulate the people’s fear of the COVID-19 pandemic and the inherent want to protect themselves and their loved ones. Many of the more recent phishing emails have been found to contain COVID-19 related content, which include “confirmed” COVID-19 cures, priority for vaccines, and related news. These emails will then direct users into phishing sites that collect their personal data including their email and login credentials, credit card and banking details, and government IDs.

Information is Golden

Be mindful of the emails you open and the links you click. Only open emails from trusted sources. Never reply or even open emails that claim to be from Metrobank unless it comes from the official Metrobank email address. Many fraudsters will try to mimic legitimate business’ email addresses to dupe clients.

If you do open an email, do not click on any link, button or attachment. They may contain malware, which, once installed on your computer or mobile device, may collect confidential data, or give scammers remote access to your device. These malwares can scrape your computer or mobile phone for information and may direct you to a fake site that appears to be of Metrobank. These fake sites will require you to log in. And once you’ve logged in, it copies and saves all of your personal information, which fraudsters can use to hack into your account.

Even if an email seems legitimate, remember that your information is yours to protect. Never give away your information to anybody including your login credentials, bank account details, signature, and copies of valid IDs. During the pandemic, impersonation of another person has become rampant because some establishments do not require face-to-face interactions (for safety purposes). So it is best to always protect your personal information.

Reporting Online Bank Scams

Metrobank will not request or ask for personal or bank information via link, text, email or call that you did not initiate. If you receive a message of this kind, please ignore or report them to us. You can report any banking fraud incidents to us by emailing us at customercare@metrobank.com.ph using “Report on Possible Fraud” as the subject or by calling us at the Metrobank Contact Center at (02) 88-700-700 or 1-800-1888-5775.