The Land Bank of the Philippines informs all its cardholders of the new scam that may steal sensitive information on personal data such as banking/credit card details and online passwords.
The new scheme involves sending alarming notice through email that the recipients’ Land Bank account has been locked and needs to click and provide some personal information to access the account.
What is Phishing?
According to Van der Merwe, et.al (2005), Phishing is an attempt to get sensitive and important information including but not limited to credit and debit card details, usernames, and passwords through fraudulent means, usually by disguising as a trustworthy company or agency.
Most of the time, these scammers do email spoofing, SMS messages or instant messaging in social media to lure or direct legitimate but unsuspecting users to a fake website, but usually a copy of the original website.
Once the user lands in the fake website, it will be compelled to provide its login credentials such as usernames, passwords and even credit card numbers.
Because it is a fake website, the entered details will be sniffed and recorded by the scammers. They will then use it to whatever they wish to do.
How to avoid getting victimized?
1. Ensure that the website starts with “HTTPS” and not just “HTTP”.
Websites of Banks, other financial institutions, and even the rest of legitimate websites usually have “HTTPS” as this means that the website is secure, and the internet traffic between your browser and the website server is encrypted.
2. Check the Website Certificate.
Look for the “padlock” icon next to “HTTPS”. It should match the website address. Example, this website angmarinongpulis.com has a website certificate that says “angmarinongpulis.com.”
3. Make sure that the url is correct.
Example, the url of the official website of Land Bank is www.landbank.com but the one that you opened or clicked is www.land-bank.com or www.landbañk.com, the latter two urls are most probably phishing websites.
4. Check email sender.
If the message telling you to click a link is sent thru email, check the sender. If it says it came from an official email account such as customerservice@examplebank.com, chances are it is legitimate. But if the entire message looks legitimately from examplebank.com but the email sender is mikebravoxxx@gmail.com, then think about it, because it is definitely a phishing attempt.
4. Trust your guts.
If you generally feel that there must be something wrong with the email or any message that is asking your personal or sensitive information, stop and call or email the institution thru their official contacts.
BEWARE OF SCAMMERS AND PHISHING!
All issues regarding LBP account must be personally raised to the nearest LBP branch or through their 24/7 customer care hotline at (02) 405-7000 or 1-800-10-405-7000 (PLDT domestic toll free number) and customercare@mail.landbank.com.
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