UnionBank has joined the #HolidayWatchPH campaign, an initiative of Scam Watch Pilipinas and the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC), to raise awareness about common online scams during the Christmas season.
Chief Information Security Officer of UnionBank, Joey Rufo, emphasizes the importance of not clicking on suspicious links, highlighting that the majority of the frauds listed in the '12 Scams of Christmas' are phishing scams.
The campaign aims to educate not only UnionBank customers but also the wider public about the dangers of phishing scams, advising against clicking links in SMS, emails, social media posts, and messages from unverified sources.
This 12 Scams of Christmas is a list that includes various types of online frauds such as fake shipping notifications, charity scams, fraudulent shopping sites, free trial scams, tech support scams, cryptocurrency investment scams, and more, specifically targeting individuals during the holiday season.
The #HolidayWatchPH campaign is part of UnionBank's broader effort to expand its cybersecurity awareness program, Cybersure. This collaboration with Scam Watch Pilipinas and CICC is a significant step in enhancing the bank's anti-scam initiatives beyond its usual channels.
UnionBank joins forces with Scam Watch Pilipinas to combat scams this Christmas
UnionBank's CISO urges public awareness, promotes 'Don't Click The Link' initiative in the fight against holiday season phishing attacks
At a glance
Union Bank of the Philippines joined the #HolidayWatchPH anti-scam awareness campaign of Scam Watch Pilipinas and Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) to warn their customers against the 12 Scams of Christmas.
UnionBank Chief Information Security Officer Joey Rufo reiterated his call for their customers' Not To Click Links' since most online frauds to watch out for this Holiday season issued by Scam Watch Pilipinas are phishing scams.
"We urged not only our customers but also the public not to click the link in messages they received from SMS, Messenger, emails and even social media posts from untrusted sources," Rufo said.
The #HolidayWatchPH campaign is the anti-scam awareness campaign to educate Filipinos against the most common online scams perpetuated by cyber criminals every Christmas season called 12 Scams of Christmas.
The 12 Scams of Christmas are fake shipping and delivery notifications, fake online charity scams, fake shopping websites, fake online sellers, free trial scams, fake Christmas gift card scams, tech support scams, crypto investment scams, fake relative/friend scams, dating scams, foreign exchange investment scams, and loan scams.
Rufo said that the #HolidayWatchPH campaign could expand the reach of their cybersecurity awareness program called Cybersure. "By collaborating with Scam Watch Pilipinas and CICC, we are expanding the reach of our anti-scam awareness efforts by going beyond our usual bank channels," he added.
Scam Watch Pilipinas co-founder and lead convenor Jocel de Guzman acknowledged that UnionBank was the first company in the Philippines to advocate 'Don't Click The Link' in 2021.
"UnionBank launched its 'Don't Click The Link' campaign in December 2021, way before the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) released their Memorandum Circulars of disallowing banks and telcos to remove links from their email and SMS marketing," De Guzman revealed.
In March 2022, the BSP issued Memorandum No. M-2022-015 mandating banks to remove clickable links in emails and SMS sent to retail customers and to conduct regular customer education campaigns against online scams and phishing schemes.