Part Two
EITHER at gunpoint or through a seemingly innocent e-mail, bank scammers continuously and cleverly evolve through the security maze of regulations to be able to steal the hard-earned money of consumers.
And while the means of monetary exchange and instruments evolved through time, information from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) shows any monetary medium—
whether it be traditional bank notes, plastic money or checks—is susceptible to fraudsters and scammers.
Banknote security
AS old-design banknotes were losing their security value and are getting easier to falsify, the central bank in early 2015 launched the demonetization of the old-design banknotes in exchange for new, more securely designed banknotes in an effort to maintain the integrity of Philippine tender.
Along with the new design came new tactics of cash counterfeiters. Among the relatively new schemes, according to the central bank, involve the extraction of a genuine security thread from a low denomination bank note, say from a P20 bill or a P50 bill, and transferring these security threads to fake money bearing higher denominations like P500 bills and P1,000 bills.
More secure checks
CHECKS are also not spared from fraudsters.
In 2013 the central bank warned the public against reported unscrupulous persons who pass off fake checks as supposedly issued by the BSP or the Central Bank of the Philippines—the monetary authority’s former official name.
As modus operandi, the scammers would pretend to be authorized BSP representatives and would ask for money from victims in exchange for fraudulent checks that are made to appear to be worth millions of pesos each.
Aside from issuing public-information campaigns that the central bank does not issue, secure or guarantee checks, monetary authorities also recently announced new and more secure check designs.
BSP Assistant Governor Johnny Noe Ravalo said the new check design—which will be called the Check Image Clearing System (CICS)—will be larger than size, with a length of 8 inches and a width of 3 inches.
The new check, according to Ravalo, will also contain new embedded security features to allow for security and integrity to prevent check fraud even if banks are not able to inspect the actual physical check. Some new security features will be visible to the naked eye. Some features, however, can only be seen through a scanner.
Latest scams
THE latest addition to the long list of scam techniques in the country now include the impersonation of BSP Deputy Governor for the Supervision and Examination sector Nestor Espenilla and other BSP officials.
Nearly a month ago, the BSP issued an advisory warning the public of this new scheme.
The BSP said it received reports that a scam is being perpetrated to target BSP-supervised financial institutions, particularly rural banks. The modus operandi of scammers include posing or representing themselves as Espenilla.
“The swindlers, usually through telephone calls, pose as the deputy governor who would want to talk to the bank president or would request for the latter’s contact details,” the BSP said. “They use the name of Deputy Governor Espenilla Jr. for the purpose of soliciting donations for specific events or contributions of similar nature.”
On the same week, the BSP also issued alerts also involving impersonators of Espenilla, this time targeting the depositors of closed banks, representing themselves as having the capacity to facilitate the immediate release of deposits from padlocked banks.
“The BSP warns the public, especially depositors of closed banks, against such scam. Claims for payment of deposits in closed banks should only be coordinated with the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. [PDIC] which is the government agency responsible for the processing of claims and release of deposit insurance to depositors of closed banks,” the BSP said.
Asean technology
AS the BSP moves to put regulations a step ahead from current scamming trends, Tetangco also cautioned in their move to adopt new technology citing the security risks that come with these technologies.
The BSP governor said as the banking industry faces the dawn of the Asean regional banking integration, local players must be vigilant with the risks that comes along with the new innovations to be introduced to the market.
“As we consider supply chains and regional integration, we must be mindful of the trend of ‘disruptive innovation’,” Tetangco said in a recent speaking engagement. “In other words: finding new ways of doing old things. Technological improvements are helping define new ways for you to ‘enter’ into and be integrated in the supply chain.”
Tetangco added that “in doing so, there is a need to be mindful that using financial technology could lead to new and unanticipated financial, business, consumer protection risks, as well as cyber-security risks.”
“This is why, even as we encourage technology solutions, we also admonish banks to do so with caution and without sacrificing financial stability and the protection of your ultimate customer, the consumer,” he added.
To be concluded
Image credits: Jason Arlan Raval/Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas via AP