ARTICLE: Inside job? Senior citizen loses P159,000 via unauthorized online transfer David Dizon, ABS-CBNnews.

com
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.

"Ganyan talaga po for your additional protection," 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monthly consultancy fees that were being deposited to his account twice a month were being withdrawn via online fund transfer.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result, a total of P159,000 were withdrawn from his account without his knowledge from July to October 2014.

"When I asked my secretary to call the manager about the balance, the manager said: 'Bakit, may ine-expect ba kayo na papasok na
pera?' Sabi niya wala kasi ine-expect namin may P159,000 na diyan. Ang sabi ng manager: 'Hindi ho, mam. 53 pesos na lang,"
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.

TRANSACTIONS

JULY 1, 2014 - P39,000 - WITHDRAWAL VIA ONLINE FUND TRANSFER

JULY 14, 2014 - P15,000 - PAYROLL CREDIT
JULY 28, 2014 - P15,000 - PAYROLL CREDIT
AUGUST 1, 2014 - P30,000 - WITHDRAWAL VIA ONLINE FUND TRANSFER
AUGUST 13, 2014 - P15,000 - PAYROLL CREDIT
AUGUST 28, 2014 - P15,000 - PAYROLL CREDIT
AUGUST 28, 2014 - P30,000 - WITHDRAWAL VIA ONLINE FUND TRANSFER
SEPTEMBER 12, 2014 - P15,000 - PAYROLL CREDIT
SEPTEMBER 29, 2014 - P15,000 - PAYROLL CREDIT
SEPTEMBER 29, 2014 - P30,000 - WITHDRAWAL VIA ONLINE FUND TRANSFER
OCTOBER 13, 2014 - P15,000 - PAYROLL CREDIT
OCTOBER 14, 2014 - P15,000 - WITHDRAWAL VIA ONLINE FUND TRANSFER
OCTOBER 28, 2014 - P15,000 - PAYROLL CREDIT
OCTOBER 28, 2014 - P15,000 - WITHDRAWAL VIA ONLINE FUND TRANSFER

"Hindi ito authorized. I have never authorized anybody to withdraw from my account," Malibiran said. Malibiran's secretary and
Akinto'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'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.

PHISHING?
On January 12, 2015, the business manager of Union Bank Aurora-Balete Drive branch sent a letter to Malibiran saying that his
account's credentials were compromised, which allowed the unauthorized fund transfers. "You have stated that the withdrawals were
unauthorized, and it is rather unfortunate that your account's credentials were at some point compromised and made known to a third
party who then used the information to perpetrate the withdrawals," the letter read. "Typically, the information is gathered through a
phishing email which pretends to be from a legitimate source and asking to verify the account holder's personal information for some
made-up reasons. They would then direct the client to a counterfeit website and ask to input account credentials."

Malibiran's personal secretary Pamela Darunday, however, refuted the bank's explanation. She said she only used the Union Bank'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. "All the withdrawals before July 2014 were done over-the-counter and never online,"
she said. Akinto'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. "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," 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.

"The bank knows to whom the money went and yet they have not exerted any effort to inquire to that depositor '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."
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.

OTHER BANK DEPOSITORS LOSE MONEY

Malibiran'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.
"Nagulat ako P400 na lang laman ng account," she said. "Pinakita ko sa branch manager at agad naman na-trace nila."
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. "Ang sabi nila baka na-skimming," 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. "Nagtaka ako, akala ko nung una error lang. Baka sa system. Lumampas 150 days wala pa ring nangyayari,"
he said. EXCL: Ilang depositor, nawalan ng pera sa online banking, ATM
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.
"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," he
said in a statement.

However, he also pointed out that in cases of phishing "where the client unknowingly volunteers his/her personal information to
scammers, the bank does not reimburse the cash lost by the client."
BSP Assistant Governor Johnny Noe Ravalo said depositors who are victimized by phishing scams should file a complaint 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. "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," he
said.

GUIDE QUESTIONS FOR ACTIVITY:

Answer the following guide questions and discuss your answers as a group:
 How can you tell if someone is phishing on your account?
 How did Mr. Malibiran lose his money in the bank? Narrate the incident.
 Do you think online banking is still safe? How can you avoid becoming a victim of phishing?