7 BDO ATMs compromised in skimming: official

 

Executive says bank has disabled compromised cards

MANILA - An official of BDO Unibank on Wednesday confirmed before a senate inquiry that seven of its automated teller machines were compromised in recent skimming hacks.

"The recent events are connected to three separate fraud events that have recently come to the bank’s attention, and they affected 7 ATMs. The seven ATMs are from three locations," BDO Executive Vice President Edwin Romualdo Reyes told lawmakers in a hearing of the Senate committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies.

Reyes did not disclose locations of the compromised machines




Reyes said the skimming incident represents only 0.02 percent of its total 3,700 ATMs across the country.

BDO, the country's largest lender, called on depositors last week to report cases of ATM "skimming," just one week after an "internal error" paralyzed electronic services of rival Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI).


 Reyes said 95 complaints from clients have reached the bank and that BDO has disabled cards which may have been compromised.

Under the skimming scheme, a device is attached to a machine that reads and records details embedded in the magnetic strips at the back of an ATM card during a transaction.

A complementing device, meanwhile, records the user's personal identification number (PIN). The details then are combined to create fake cards that may be used to withdraw or purchase items.

Reyes described the magnetic strip as "a 50-year old technology," and that "attempts to defraud it are as old." He said new technology has made these illegal devices cheap and easy to produce and obtain.

Apart from this, he said, a new skimming scheme was also on the rise.

Called "deep insert skimming," the method would be "undetected and will not be visible in conventional anti-skimming protection" systems, he said.

To remedy this, the executive said BDO was upgrading its ATMs.

The bank, he added, will "reimburse all clients affected by unauthorized withdrawals... subject to existing investigation and reimbursement processes."

Reyes said affected customers should file their complaints through proper bank channels, adding that "social media posts and activities will not be actionable from the bank's side without a formal filing."

Affected customers, he added, may have their cards replaced for free.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

BDO asks depositors to report alleged ATM fraud

MANILA - BDO Unibank, the country's largest lender, said Friday it received reports of alleged ATM fraud and urged depositors who think they were affected to have their cases investigated by the bank.

Social media posts circulated this week purportedly showed how some depositors lost money due to "skimming" or copying of account details through hijacked ATM machines.

"BDO has obtained reports of potentially compromised ATM following reported losses from cardholders," the bank said in a statement.

"Customers with unauthorized transactions may reach out to the bank via formal channels so that their cases may be properly investigated and, where confirmed as impacted, may be reimbursed," it said.

The bank owned by the country's richest man, Henry Sy, said "all efforts" were being made to keep accounts safe.

The ATM fraud reports came a week after Bank of the Philippine Islands' electronic services were paralyzed for 2 days due to what it said was an "internal" glitch.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Victim loses P131,000 to ATM fraud

MANILA, Philippines -- Jordinette Pacia was surprised by a call from her bank informing her of suspicious withdrawals from her account amounting to more than P131,000.

"P131,000 [ang] nailabas in one day at sa ibang bansa," Pacia told ANC, adding she was in shock after finding out her savings account only had P18,000 left after the "suspicious" withdrawals.

Bank records showed to Pacia stated there were 50 withdrawals all done on March 11 and in Bulgaria.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Pacia may have been a victim of ATM skimming or cloning.

"[Pwedeng] may mga skimming device na nailagay dun sa machine, then pag pasok niya nung card, nakopya yung information, naclone na yung card," Teresita Lisama, head of financial consumer affairs at BSP, told ANC.

But Lisama stressed Pacia's money should be returned if it is proven that she knew nothing about the transactions.

Sought for comment, Pacia's bank, BDO Unibank Inc., said it is already conducting an investigation into the incident. BDO added such has been a common problem for all banks and it is currently strengthening its system to avoid more incidents of ATM fraud.

"This is an industry-wide problem affecting all the banks and is not limited to BDO and its systems. We have already taken steps to secure our ATMS from such fraud attempts," BDO said.

source: abs-cbnnews.com