Tips on How to Outsmart Scammers Online

Tips on How to Outsmart Scammers Online

Online Banking is much more appreciated and being used in today's ganaps. With the new normal reality we are in at the moment, social distancing being strictly mandated and that community quarantine that's been extended for the nth time, Online Banking is really the convenient way to go.

Still, we must also be aware of the lurking online parasites - The Scammers who hunt victims, then making them visit fake websites, fish for personal details,  bank information,  and yes, their up for your hard-earned money too.

On this blog post, it's time to turn the tables and Outsmart those Scammers.

Tips on How to Outsmart Scammers Online

#1 Keep an Eye out of messages from a “Concerned Client”

There is a text message currently circulating that reads like this:

BEWARE: I just received a call from BDO. For those who are using BDO for online transactions, please DO NOT DO IT FROM YOUR PHONE or APP. Do it from your desktop or laptop. I am no techie but they said that there is a malware that is affecting such transactions. This is also the reason why BDO was inaccessible most of the time yesterday. Be careful pls. 

This is Fake and could be a ploy to drive away clients from using the bank’s mobile banking facility (especially from the BDO Mobile app) to a channel where scammers can better exploit their would-be victims and lure them to fake websites through the latter’s personal computer. Banks NEVER call their clients to advise them on what to use or not to use. To be sure, check with the bank first for any official advisory and announcement, and refrain from sharing unverified news you have received via email or text.

#2 NEVER CLICK on links

You could also receive an email that reads like this:

Dear valued client,
Greetings from BDO Online Banking.
Please be advised that we will deactivate the access of your account/s in BDO Online Banking if we don't hear any actions from you.
It's usually pretty easy to take care of things like this. Most of the time, we just need a little more information about your account or latest transactions. You can verify your account at https://online.bdo.com.ph
These communication channels are available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Thank you for banking online with us!
The BDO Online Banking Team
Important: Please save this message for future reference

Don't tell me ni-click mo? at agulat ka ba nasa lutu-lutuan challenge ka na-redirect ng link na yan? Sample lang yan on how this linking works and if the email you received is from scammers, much likely na it's a fake link. And that is a FAKE message. Banks will NEVER send you an email asking you to log-in through an embedded link. If ever you received such an email, do not click on that link. It will lead you to a different website where your personal information will be stolen.

#3 NEVER ENTER YOUR login DETAILS

If ever you do click on that link, don't enter your login details such as username and password. If clicking on the link is essentially opening your door to scammers, logging in is akin to putting one foot through that door by sharing your personal banking information with them.

Tips on How to Outsmart Scammers Online

#4 NEVER SHARE YOUR OTP

Sharing is Caring is not applicable to this aspect. No,  it's not selfish, and it's not really meant to be shared. Your login details and One-Time PIN (OTP) are YOURS and YOURS ALONE. Once you logged in your username and password, you will receive an OTP from your bank as its final security measure. Do not share this OTP to anyone else, especially to the scammers through their fake websites. If you do, this is essentially putting both feet through that door. This is a bad, bad move.

#5 When in Doubt, follow your gut and Hover over

All emails asking you to click on links are scam attacks —even if it includes the spelled out BDO website as a hyperlink. To double-check, hover your cursor on the weblink without clicking on it. A preview will reveal that it leads to a different site and not www.bdo.com.ph.

#6 When in doubt, ASK the right People

Still unsure of what to do next, or you got a feeling that you might have been scammed? You can get in touch with BDO by logging in Messenger and looking for BDO Customer Care with the blue verified checkmark from Facebook. Also for other queries, and official advisories visit BDO Unibank on Facebook.

#BDOAntiScam