BDO already validated a viral post on Facebook; according to them, the online withdrawal is valid. Though the confirmation was done earlier, account holders still raise concerns about the security level of the banking system.
For those who are not aware, Gleen Cañete shared a live video on his Tiktok account (which has been deleted already) about the shocking news that he found out regarding his passbook account. According to him, he had his passbook and never subscribed to online banking or even a debit card. The money saved is 345,000 PHP around $5863.85 which he will be using for his child's education.
Before the announcement of BDO confirming the validity of withdrawal netizen's speculated that it might be an inside job and officers from the bank did the hocus-pocus in magically removing his funds. A scary story to which the majority of people can relate as they might know someone who had this kind of story. If you haven't encountered one you can check this jurisprudence GR # 170598 FAR EAST BANK TRUST COMPANY, VS ROBERTO MAR CHANTE, a.k.a. ROBERT MAR G. CHAN for the inside job case
After a few days from posting BDO released a statement informing the public that the withdrawn funds were valid and Mr. Cañete would solve this matter within their family. Now, how could this happen?
Someone had all of his banking details, including his personal information, within the family and decided to withdraw the money. Regarding whom did that, Mr. Cañete gave no further information.
Now as a regular person, how can we protect ourselves from this thing happening?
Protect your personal identifiable information PII as always. Personal identifiable information includes your full name, date of birth, social security numbers and even your mobile phone number. Do not give it easily to other people. One way or another, you have provided these information elsewhere. I have shared this information multiple times online and if in case that I need to retract it I cannot anymore.
Do not click links if you do not trust the source. With the promotions ongoing, some people share some of the links via chat, telegram, and other media if you find it suspicious don't click the link.
Always check the spelling of the website, especially online banks. One of the errors that scammers take advantage of is the letters i, l, and o. At times scam websites use typography to create a fake website that can steal your information bdo can be bd0 to some especially if you are using your mobile device.
Use 2-FA and OTP. When accessing your mobile accounts if they have the 2-FA authentication use it as always and never give your OTP to anyone.
If someone from the bank calls you, if in doubt drop the call and call their hotline instead. I have been a debt collector doing outbound calls for a bank each time that they are hesitant to provide information I always encourage the people that I call to reach out to their bank when they have time so that the said concern can be addressed the soonest. Usually, it does work, sometimes it doesn't.
When you file a dispute, banks will always find any loophole so that they can put the blame on you for negligence but if you follow the steps above for sure it can lessen the chances of them getting back at you and your dispute can be approved. As always document everything for you and everyone's protection.