BPI, GMA partner to raise bar on cybersecurity

MANILA, Philippines — Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) has tied up with leading broadcast company GMA Network to raise the bar on cybersecurity and protect Filipinos from being duped of their hard-earned money.

BPI, GMA and GMA New Media Inc. have agreed to launch a public service announcement campaign to help prevent people from falling into cyber scams.

BPI and GMA co-produced cybersecurity videos in the form of dramatized PSAs that show the ways fraudsters use common social engineering schemes to dupe people out of their money and the information that should never be shared with anyone to avoid being scammed.

BPI chief customer and marketing officer Catherine Santamaria said the “Maging Listo, Wag Magpaloko” campaign aims to end the unfortunate experiences from family, friends, and colleagues.

“We all want to reduce cybercrime and protect against unauthorized exploitation of our systems, networks, and technology,” Santamaria said.

Jonathan John Paz, enterprise information security officer and data protection officer at BPI, said the partnership aims to change the behavior of banking clients so that they become more vigilant against cyber scams, and never share any confidential information such as card security details, passwords, and one-time PINs (OTPs) with anyone.

“We all share responsibility in keeping personal data safe, and this shared responsibility can only be sustained when we all work together,” Paz said.

GMA corporate affairs and communications head Angela Javier Cruz said cyberattacks on retail customers using mobile and internet applications for their financial transactions have increased along with the rise of electronic or digital channels.

“As a media company, we see the need to conduct customer education campaigns against online scams and social engineering schemes such as phishing, smishing, and vishing,” Cruz said.

GMA New Media president and chief operating officer Dennis Augusto Caharian said the partnership aims to arm individuals with ways to protect themselves from cyber threats and stay safe online.

In the long run, Caharian said the proponents want to help create a culture of cybersecurity awareness that is essential in the digital age.

“It all starts with education,” Caharian said.

BPI will showcase the public service announcements on its official social media accounts and in its branches across the country.