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Inside job? Senior citizen loses P159,000 via unauthorized online transfer

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David Dizon, ABS-CBNnews.com

<div style="padding:3px 3px 2px;margin:1px 0 20px;background-color:#efefef;border:solid 1px #ddd;line-height:16px"><img style="width:100%;margin:0px!important" src="/sites/default/files/a_images/access/related/A01A7158-1.JPG"/><div style="margin:5px 3px;font-size:12px">Consultant Carlos Malibiran gestures as he answers questions during an interview at the ABS-CBN headquarters on Friday. The NBI has warned banks against syndicates who are victimizing depositors in massive fraud and phishing scams. Photo by Jonathan Cellona for ABS-CBNnews.com</div></div>MANILA - A senior citizen lost P159,000 in savings from a local bank via unauthorized online fund transfer despite never using his account to transfer funds.In an interview, businessman Carlos D. Malibiran said Akinto Marketing Corporation opened a payroll account in his name at Union Bank Aurora-Balete Drive branch in July 2013.Malibiran, 72, said he worked as a consultant for Akinto, earning P30,000 a month as consultancy fee, which was deposited regularly to his account.He said he used the original PIN supplied by the bank to check on his balance online via the Union Bank website but never made a withdrawal, saying he usually withdrew his money over the counter.During the second quarter of 2014, the Union Bank website rejected the PIN code that Malibiran used to check on his account.Malibiran said he asked his secretary to call the branch manager, identified as Christian Dumlao, who said that the Union Bank website usually asked for additional information online as an added security measure. &quot;Ganyan talaga po for your additional protection,&quot; he recalled the manager as saying.Malibiran then continued to use his account for one to two months.He last made a P20,000 over-the-counter withdrawal from his account at Union Bank on June 5, 2014 and then decided he wanted to let the money accumulate for a while so that he would have cash before Christmas.Without his knowledge, the monthly consultancy fees that were being deposited to his account twice a month were being withdrawn via online fund transfer.As a result, a total of P159,000 were withdrawn from his account without his knowledge from July to October 2014.&quot;When I asked my secretary to call the manager about the balance, the manager said: &#x27;Bakit, may ine-expect ba kayo na papasok na pera?&#x27; Sabi niya wala kasi ine-expect namin may P159,000 na diyan. Ang sabi ng manager: &#x27;Hindi ho, mam. 53 pesos na lang,&quot; Malibiran said.A check on his transaction records showed that the online withdrawals were being done every start of the month on July and August 2014.The withdrawals then increased in frequency and were being done on the same day that funds were being deposited to the account.<div style="padding:3px 3px 2px;margin:1px 0 20px;background-color:#efefef;border:solid 1px #ddd;line-height:16px"><img style="width:100%;margin:0px!important" src="/sites/default/files/a_images/access/related/A01A7235-6.JPG"/><div style="margin:5px 3px;font-size:12px">Consultant Carlos Malibiran gestures as he answers questions during an interview at the ABS-CBN headquarters on Friday. The NBI has warned banks against syndicates who are victimizing depositors in massive fraud and phishing scams. Photo by Jonathan Cellona for ABS-CBNnews.com</div></div><div>TRANSACTIONS</div>JULY 1, 2014 - P39,000 - WITHDRAWAL VIA ONLINE FUND TRANSFERJULY 14, 2014 - P15,000 - PAYROLL CREDIT JULY 28, 2014 - P15,000 - PAYROLL CREDITAUGUST 1, 2014 - P30,000 - WITHDRAWAL VIA ONLINE FUND TRANSFERAUGUST 13, 2014 - P15,000 - PAYROLL CREDIT AUGUST 28, 2014 - P15,000 - PAYROLL CREDITAUGUST 28, 2014 - P30,000 - WITHDRAWAL VIA ONLINE FUND TRANSFERSEPTEMBER 12, 2014 - P15,000 - PAYROLL CREDIT SEPTEMBER 29, 2014 - P15,000 - PAYROLL CREDITSEPTEMBER 29, 2014 - P30,000 - WITHDRAWAL VIA ONLINE FUND TRANSFEROCTOBER 13, 2014 - P15,000 - PAYROLL CREDITOCTOBER 14, 2014 - P15,000 - WITHDRAWAL VIA ONLINE FUND TRANSFEROCTOBER 28, 2014 - P15,000 - PAYROLL CREDITOCTOBER 28, 2014 - P15,000 - WITHDRAWAL VIA ONLINE FUND TRANSFER&quot;Hindi ito authorized. I have never authorized anybody to withdraw from my account,&quot; Malibiran said.Malibiran&#x27;s secretary and Akinto&#x27;s accounts manager also went to the bank to complain but were told that the funds were transferred to different depositors.When they asked for the names of these accounts, the manager refused because the bank secrecy law disallows the release of information about depositors.The manager also promised to forward the matter to Union Bank&#x27;s anti-fraud department, which investigated the case.On November 2014, Malibiran also sent a demand letter through his lawyers, asking for a reimbursement of his missing funds. A copy of the letter was also sent to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.<div>PHISHING?</div>On January 12, 2015, the business manager of Union Bank Aurora-Balete Drive branch sent a letter to Malibiran saying that his account&#x27;s credentials were compromised, which allowed the unauthorized fund transfers.&quot;You have stated that the withdrawals were unauthorized, and it is rather unfortunate that your account&#x27;s credentials were at some point compromised and made known to a third party who then used the information to perpetrate the withdrawals,&quot; the letter read.&quot;Typically, the information is gathered through a phishing email which pretends to be from a legitimate source and asking to verify the account holder&#x27;s personal information for some made-up reasons. They would then direct the client to a counterfeit website and ask to input account credentials.&quot;Malibiran&#x27;s personal secretary Pamela Darunday, however, refuted the bank&#x27;s explanation. She said she only used the Union Bank&#x27;s website to check the balance of the account.She also said they have never received any e-mail from the bank, asking for information on Malibiran or directing them to click on a link.&quot;All the withdrawals before July 2014 were done over-the-counter and never online,&quot; she said.Akinto&#x27;s accounting manager Roderick Ramos also told ABS-CBN News that they removed 41 payroll accounts from Union Bank Aurora-Balete Drive branch after discovering the theft. The payroll accounts are now with a different bank, he said.Malibiran said he is disappointed that Union Bank cannot protect their depositors even while promoting their online banking system.&quot;They should have safety nets and explain it to their depositors. In all previous online inquiries, they were okay. Tapos nung bandang huli, ayaw nang tanggapin. Website nila yun,&quot; he said.He said he is also surprised that the funds were being withdrawn on the same day that the money was credited to his account.&quot;The bank knows to whom the money went and yet they have not exerted any effort to inquire to that depositor &#x27;bakit ka nagkaroon ng ganito? Saan ba nanggaling yan? Malabnaw ang safety net. Dapat extra effort from the bank despite the secrecy. Pakiramdam ko inside job from the bank.&quot;He also said he plans to make an appeal to the Bangko Sentral to make a ruling on the matter in the interest of depositors.<div>OTHER BANK DEPOSITORS LOSE MONEY</div>Malibiran&#x27;s case of missing money is not the first to be reported.A TV Patrol report earlier described the case of Union Bank depositor Marlene Atienza who also lost P115,000 from her account a day after she checked her balance.Atienza said the funds were also transferred to another account via online bank transfer.&quot;Nagulat ako P400 na lang laman ng account,&quot; she said. &quot;Pinakita ko sa branch manager at agad naman na-trace nila.&quot;Another depositor, Bernadeth Ong, lost P20,000 from her account, which was withdrawn from Ortigas. Ong, however, lives in Davao City and has never been to Ortigas.&quot;Ang sabi nila baka na-skimming,&quot; she said.Frane Ong, Union Bank depositor from Cagayan de Oro, said he also lost P90,000 from his account right after checking his balance on the Union Bank website.&quot;Nagtaka ako, akala ko nung una error lang. Baka sa system. Lumampas 150 days wala pa ring nangyayari,&quot; he said.EXCL: <a href="http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/video/business/09/16/15/excl-ilang-depositor-nawalan-ng-pera-sa-online-banking-atm">Ilang depositor, nawalan ng pera sa online banking, ATM</a>ABS-CBN News also learned about one bank depositor whose account showed funds being deposited and withdrawn on the same day, without his knowledge.Union Bank Executive Vice President Genaro Lapez earlier said Union Bank, just like other banks, has issued and continues to issue advisories to the public, warning them against these scams.&quot;These can be seen in our website, in our posters, in our ATMs and in various media in order to promote awareness to our clients,&quot; he said in a statement.However, he also pointed out that in cases of phishing &quot;where the client unknowingly volunteers his/her personal information to scammers, the bank does not reimburse the cash lost by the client.&quot;BSP Assistant Governor Johnny Noe Ravalo said depositors who are victimized by phishing scams should <a href="http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/video/business/09/17/15/bsp-looking-banks-security-measures-against-fraud">file a complaint</a> with the Bangko Sentral so that the BSP can act on the matter.He said the BSP is also looking into how banks protect their clients against all kinds of fraud.&quot;We can go to banks and rate them from 1 to 4. 3 and 4 will be passing. 1 and 2 means the bank has big problems,&quot; he said.

PHISHING OR INSIDE JOB? A senior citizen lost P159,000 in savings from a local bank via unauthorized online fund transfer despite never using his account to transfer funds.

PHISHING OR INSIDE JOB? A senior citizen lost P159,000 in savings from a local bank via unauthorized online fund transfer despite never using his account to transfer funds.

Inside job? Senior citizen loses P159,000 via unauthorized online transfer

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Inside job? Senior citizen loses P159,000 via unauthorized online transfer

David Dizon,

ABS-CBNnews.com

Published Sep 19, 2015 12:24 AM PHT

|

Updated Sep 19, 2015 11:31 AM PHT

Read More:

online fund transfer

phishing

union bank

fund transfer

cybercrime

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