THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reminds the public to remain vigilant against text messages urging users to click on links, even if they seem to come from legitimate banks, e-money issuers, or other financial institutions.
The BSP emphasizes that banks will not send text messages and emails with clickable links to their customers, following BSP Memorandum No. M-2022-015 issued in March 2022.1
The BSP continues to receive reports of fraudulent text messages that appear to come from legitimate financial institutions. This scheme, known as text hijacking, involves scammers inserting fake messages into legitimate text threads to make them look authentic. These messages often contain malicious links designed to steal access to victims’ financial accounts and are usually accompanied by urgent prompts such as notifications of expiring rewards, unauthorized transactions, or account verification requests to pressure recipients into clicking the link.
To protect oneself from scammers and fraudsters, the public is advised to:
- Avoid clicking links in text messages or e-mails even if they appear to come from banks or e-money issuers.
- Enable multi-factor authentication to secure accounts.
- Never share personal or financial details with anyone.
- If your account has been compromised, contact your bank or e-money issuer right away through official channels: https://bit.ly/BSPScamAlert
The public is encouraged to report scammers to the following:
- DICT Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center: https://cicc.gov.ph/report/
- PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group Complaint Action Center: https://acg.pnp.gov.ph/contact-us/
