GoTyme Bank has echoed Scam Watch Pilipinas call for online attitude change, through its #KontraScamAttitude Awareness Program, as the first line defense for Filipinos to protect themselves from various online scams.
GoTyme Fraud Strategy Head Jason Brasileño said that prevention through awareness and mindset change online are key components in combating cyber fraud. “While everyone has responsibility to prevent a scam incident—financial institutions, law enforcement, and consumers—the latter plays the biggest role in protecting themselves,” Brasileño said.
Scam Watch Pilipinas Co-Founder Jocel de Guzman pointed out that the lack of cybersecurity literacy of Filipinos is what the movement is trying to address with education campaign. “We need to have a change of attitude online by learning how to be digitally cautious like the way we are careful in the real world,” De Guzman reiterated.
The Scam Watch Pilipinas #KontraScamAttitude program emphasized four attitudes as an anti-scam preventive measures:
MAGDAMOT (Be stingy). Never give or lend money online especially to people you don’t know, or you just met. Majority of messages in emails, SMS or social media that asks for money is a form of scam. The best way not be a victim of fraud is to be stingy online.
MAGDUDA (Be suspicious). Always be suspicious and never immediately trust “too good to be true offers” in messages, emails, and social media. Double check and always verify authenticity of the sender before giving out personal information.
MANG-ISNOB (Be a snob). Ignore messages in SMS, emails and social media with threats or warning coming from banking, financial and e-commerce institutions especially if you know that you have no pending business or transaction with them. Always save the number of you family, friends, colleagues in your address book so you can ignore callers and SMS with unknown numbers.
MAGSUMBONG (Report). Always report incidents of scam to the Inter-Agency Response Center (I-ARC) Hotline 1326. dditional I-ARC numbers are also available: 0947-714-7105 (SMART), 0966-976-5971 (Globe), and 0991-481-4225 (DITO). Incorporating each of the #KontraScamAttitude into the daily digital lives of Filipinos can create a formidable first line of defense against scams.
GoTyme was the first banking institution to become a brand convenor of Scam Watch Pilipinas realizing the value of collaboration to educate as many Filipinos as possible against cyber fraud and online scams.
GoTyme assured the public and its customers that it will always listen to the problem or issue at hand through helpful humans who will walk you through the correct processes. Further, GoTyme regularly reviews its fraud rules and continually enhances them as needed and urges victims to immediately report to 1326 within 24 hours of the incident.