A teachers’ group on Thursday, November 13, raised the alarm over a “surge” in suspicious emails targeting public school teachers’ official Department of Education (DepEd) accounts, warning educators to stay vigilant against phishing scams as the year-end bonus season approaches.

The Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC), in a statement, said it had received reports of several teachers receiving deceptive messages through their DepEd email addresses, urging them to verify their accounts or update their information via unfamiliar links.

These messages often appear to come from legitimate institutions such as the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP), the government’s primary payroll service provider.

TDC cited the case of Mia Lozano, a teacher from Rizal, who fell victim to the scam after receiving a fake Landbank verification email.

Believing it to be authentic, she entered her personal information and later received a notification that funds had been withdrawn from her account and transferred to an electronic wallet.

“Mabuti na lang at hindi pa pumapasok ang aming year-end bonus at suweldo kaya P230 lang ang nakuha sa akin (Good thing our year-end bonus and salary haven’t come in yet, so they only got P230 from me),” Lozano said, as told to TDC.

TDC Chair Benjo Basas expressed concern over the recurrence of similar incidents, recalling that nearly 100 teachers were victimized by online banking scams in 2022, with losses ranging from P5,000 to over P100,000.

“Sa panahon ng bigayan ng bonus, lumalala ‘yung mga ganitong scam na talagang tina-target ang mga teacher. Kawawa naman ang mga nagiging biktima, nasisimot ang pinaghirapang pera (During bonus season, these kinds of scams worsen and deliberately target teachers. It’s heartbreaking for the victims—their hard-earned money gets wiped out),” Basas said.

The TDC urged both DepEd and Landbank to immediately issue advisories and strengthen security measures to protect teachers, government employees, and other clients.

Basas also warned that scammers tend to become more aggressive during the release of government bonuses and salaries, when teachers’ accounts are most vulnerable.

TDC reminded teachers and DepEd personnel to remain cautious online—ignore suspicious messages, avoid clicking unknown links, and report possible phishing attempts to the concerned authorities.