By Lee C. Chipongian
SM Group’s banking arm, BDO Unibank Inc., has renewed its consistent call for online bank clients to be more alert when transacting via e-banking to detect suspicious activities and to never share one-time pins (OTPs).
(Credit: www.bdo.com.ph / MANILA BULLETIN)
“BDO advises clients, when they notice unusual activities on their mobile devices, to ask their telecom-munication company to block their SIM number and for extra safety, freeze their bank accounts through [email protected] or BDO Customer Care on Messenger,” BDO said in a statement.
BDO, the country’s largest bank, is again warning financial consumers against scammers who have be-come more creative in their cybercrime activities during the COVID-19 lockdown. However, one protection that online bank clients can depend on is the (OTPs that most banks offer. “One of the best defenses against scam is never sharing OTPs with anyone,” said BDO.
OTP is a unique six-character codes provide another layer of protection for online bankers. They can be used once and only within a short span of time, the bank said. “It sends these unique six-character codes on two occasions: first, to complete a mobile number’s registration to BDO Online Banking, and second, to confirm an online transaction.”
“Besides asking directly, scammers can obtain OTPs from a stolen phone,” BDO warned. “They can hack apps, which may have the owner’s banking details to make quick online transactions (therefore the) bank reminds its clients to report when their registered mobile devices are stolen or missing, so that it can detect unauthorized transactions from it.”