May 7, 2020As we move towards a more digital lifestyle brought about by physical limitations and less face-to-face financial transactions during this quarantine period, more forms of fraudulent activities or scams have surfaced. Stay vigilant during these trying times by conducting due diligence and avoiding the following types of scams: a. Donation/Charity Scams People are giving their own resources and efforts in helping the community in the fight against COVID-19 through donations. However, fraudsters take this as an opportunity to solicit money and pretend to use it to provide assistance to the needy and/or frontliners by: providing false bank accounts to receive donations through cash deposits/online transfers using the name of well-established institutions for charity purposes reaching out to people through various channels such as emails, social media, text messages and phone calls Make sure you are helping out a legitimate charity or institution by doing your own research before donating. Verify first with the concerned institution or organization before opening a link. b. Product Scams In this type of scam, the fraudster sells their fake medicines, products or services to people who are in need of an immediate cure for COVID-19 infection by: offering a cure or free testing for COVID-19 using various channels sending emails on latest updates about COVID-19 which instruct you to open suspicious links/attachments and make you reveal your account information To avoid this, refer only to government agencies’ (e.g DOH, BSP) advisories related to COVID-19. Together, let’s secure your hard-earned finances by staying extra vigilant to avoid these deceitful activities during this situation. Bank of Commerce is regulated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. consumeraffairs@bsp.gov.ph