Landbank: Teachers who lost money fell victims to phishing scam

MANILa, Philippines—Land Bank of the Philippines on Monday said the teachers whose bank accounts lost money had fallen victims to a phishing scam despite its “safe” systems.

READ: Some teachers lose P26K to P121K each in alleged bank hacking — group

Phishing happens when a bank customer receives an email directing the unsuspecting client to click an attachment or link, which, in turn, enables the tech-savvy scammer to access the victim’s bank information.

In many cases, phishing emails do not look suspicious as scammers try to copy or make them look like legitimate bank emails.

Following reports from Teachers’ Dignity Coalition that some teachers lost between P26,000 and P121,000 each after their Landbank accounts were allegedly hacked, the state-run lender said its systems “were not hacked and remain secure.”

“According to the initial investigation by Landbank, the devices of the teachers were hacked via phishing, which compromised their personal information,” it said in a statement.

“The bank has already reached out to the affected customers and is working on the resolution of these isolated cases at the soonest possible time,” it added.

The lender urged vigilance against phishing and other online banking fraud. “Landbank reminds its customers to refrain from opening suspicious emails, links and attachments, and sharing your account and personal information. Official Landbank representatives will never ask for the critical financial information of customers.”

Landbank said it kept “the highest level of security in all its systems” so that customers’ accounts and personal information were protected.