Banks ramp up efforts to deter cyberattacks

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine banks are stepping up their cybersecurity structure and awareness campaign to increase the resilience of the banking industry against cyberattacks, according to the Bank Marketing Association of the Philippines.

BMAP said cyberthreats such as phishing and smishing are fast evolving and growing as scammers take advantage of the shift in consumer behavior amid the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 pandemic.

“Extraordinary times like the COVID-19 pandemic open up opportunities for fraudulent activities. Scammers are stepping up to take advantage of the quarantine period as a lot of workers yield to remote working and work-from-home arrangements to avoid contracting the virus,” it said.

The leading marketing and communication association urged the public to remain vigilant and confident in the banking industry’s cybersecurity measures against fraud attacks to ensure the delivery of secure and safe financial services.

To stay cybersafe, BMAP urged the banking public to avoid using shared network or shared computer when doing financial or other sensitive transactions since hackers may access personal information.

Likewise, bank clients were also encouraged to install and update the anti-virus software in their devices.

BMAP also said cybercriminals are creating fake emails and social media accounts purporting to be from financial institutions and government agencies to obtain personal and account information for seemingly legitimate purposes.

The industry also warned the public not to open or reply to unsolicited emails as this lets the sender know that your address is valid and can be used for future scams.

“Be wary of email attachments and free software from unknown sources,” it said.

BMAP also said clients should be cautious, particularly when making online payments to a bank by making sure the website is secured.

It said clients should create and use a strong password for all their accounts and preferably set a different password for each account.

“Should a hacker or phisher obtain one of your passwords, at least only one account will be compromised. Activate account notification if available. Some banks have notification alert tools where they send text messages or email notifications after every transaction,” BMAP said.

The banking sector is working closely with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for collaborative measures to collectively safeguard the industry and the financial consumers against cyberfraud and attacks.

The BSP earlier issued an advisory cautioning the public against online scams including, donation or charity scams, phishing, spoofed or fake websites, imposter scams and fake documents as well as investment scams.

In the public advisory, the BSP  reminded  the public to beware of schemes that prey on vulnerable consumers eager to augment incomes, facilitate financial transactions, or make quick investments.

It urged the public to scrutinize emails, texts and websites; conduct background check; use strong passwords and multi-factor authentication; keep personal and account information private and report suspicious communications, personnel or transactions.