GCash takes down over 4 million accounts

MANILA, Philippines — E-wallet giant GCash has removed more than four million accounts in its platform for engaging in fraudulent and risky transactions that endanger the trust network of the app.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a cybersecurity forum, G-Xchange president and CEO Oscar Reyes Jr. said the e-wallet blocked over four million users between January 2022 and June 2023.

Reyes said these GCash accounts were linked to malicious activities, especially digital fraud, and that they must be stripped of access to the app for safety and security.

“When we see transactions that are potentially fraudulent or risky, we are able to block them. We took down more than four million accounts in just 18 months, from January 2022 to June 2023,” Reyes said.

For the year, GCash blocked a total of 185 sites that, when opened, steal the GCash details of an individual. Reyes said GCash would keep on raising its cybersecurity walls as it expands its user base.

“When it comes to outside of the app, there really are a lot of bad actors in the market who try to take advantage of consumers. They do a lot of social engineering. They do a lot of stalking [and] phishing to get personal information from you,” Reyes said.

Similarly, GCash parent Globe Telecom Inc. called on legislators to approve as soon as possible the measures pending in Congress seeking to penalize money mule activities.

The House of Representatives in May approved on third and final reading House Bill (HB) 7393, or the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act, instituting penalties against money mules, or those who participate in financial fraud.

Globe president and CEO Ernest Cu said enacting into law measures like HB 7393 would compel Filipinos to think twice before taking part in fraudulent activities. For one, he reported that some subscribers register multiple SIMs just to sell them to criminal groups.

“These are things that should be made a criminal offense in the country because you are making yourself an accessory, aiding in the commitment of a crime. That sort of thing, I think, should be stopped through a law that we are also pushing Congress to enact,” Cu said.

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri in March filed Senate Bill 2039, the counterpart version of HB 7393, although this remains to be deliberated at the committee level.

GCash, owned by Mynt (Globe Fintech Innovations Inc.) and operated by G-Xchange, is the leading finance app in the Philippines with a portfolio of financial services ranging from cash transfer to instant loans.