Credit card issuers report 21% jump in fraud cases

MANILA, Philippines — Fraudulent credit card activities via remote and other digital payment channels jumped by 21 percent in the Philippines since the start of th  pandemic, according to the Credit Card Association of the Philippines (CCAP).

This prompted the group, comprised of country’s 18 major credit card players, to further strengthen its advocacy toward the responsible use of credit cards and enhanced protection of cardholders.

CCAP executive director Alex Ilagan said the association   continues to rally its member-issuers behind its ongoing #FightBudol campaign.

“Fraud cases have been on the rise due to the growing acceptance of various digital payment platforms, causing financial detriment to the industry,” Ilagan said.

During the Fraud Awareness Week from July 18 to 22, CCAP members simultaneously mounted social media campaigns to educate and raise awareness among Filipino consumers on fighting credit card fraud.

Ilagan said mobility restrictions brought about by the global health crisis have forced Filipino customers to shift to remote and other digital payments to deal with face-to-face restrictions.

Through its #FightBudolMovement campaign on social media, CCAP and its members continue to educate their credit cardholders on how to fight fraud.

According to CCAP, the public must watch out for new ways scammers or fraudsters use to lure their victims.

“Combating financial crime is a shared responsibility. Thus, we are enjoining everyone to help us in our continuous fight against these progressive fraudsters,” CCAP said.

These include surrendered cards scam wherein fraudster tricks the victim into surrendering the card by posing as a bank personnel and offering higher credit card limits and lifetime waiver of annual fees.

“Never surrender your card to anyone. Banks will never ask you to submit your credit card for replacements or upgrades. Dispose of your old credit cards properly by punching holes on their magnetic strip or chip to ensure they cannot be reused by anyone,” CCAP said.

Another is the account takeover wherein a fraudster calls up the customer service of the bank, aiming to take over and gain access to a victim’s account.

The association also cautioned the public about phishing, vishing, and smishing wherein scammers pretend to be from the bank and offer fake promotions, services, or security verifications.

Via SMS spoofing, CCAP said fraudsters are able to mimic and send fake SMS messages using the target bank’s actual SMS sender ID or name

“Do not click on unfamiliar links sent via SMS even if the sender ID seems to be from your bank. Your bank will never request for your CVV2 and OTP over SMS text links. If you get a text that seems to be asking for your credit card data, ignore it; it’s not real,” it said.

Latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed credit card loans jumped by 18.9 percent to P475.94 billion in end-June   from P400.15 billion in the same month last year.