BDO warns against SIM-card-related scams

BDO Unibank, Inc. cautions against scammers who use SIM cards to deceive and steal their victims’ money. One modus is called SIM Swapping, where scammers disguise as telco agents offering upgraded network connection in exchange for SIM cards. 

More prevalent is the SIM Upgrade modus. Scammers purchase 4G SIM cards, register their victims’ mobile number, and fool their victims into giving the One-Time PIN (OTP) needed to own the mobile number.

In both modus operandi, scammers take over their victims’ mobile numbers to control their victims’ online bank accounts.

BDO urges clients to call BDO Customer Care to deactivate their accounts if they get SMS notifications or emails about suspicious online transactions.

How SIM Swapping and SIM Upgrade work

Scammers identify then gather their victims’ personal information through phishing or from the internet. They mention personal information such as birth date and mother’s maiden name when they call their victims to sound convincing and credible. Once they win their victims’ trust, they are able to convince them to surrender their SIM card or OTP to activate a 4G SIM card.

For protection, BDO advises clients to be prudent in sharing personal information online and to keep their social media accounts in private mode.

With their victims’ personal information and mobile number, scammers can more easily outsmart banks’ multifactor authentication (MFA) and transfer money from their victims’ online bank accounts to their own. Common MFA consists of using a username and password to log in an online bank account, and receiving one-time PINs on a registered mobile number to confirm a transaction.

How to protect yourself

While scammers continue to take advantage of today’s challenging new normal to con people, there are ways to protect against their attacks. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) share the following tips in a recent advisory:

• Never give out personal information and SIM card details in response to unsolicited calls/texts from unknown individuals.

• Always check SMS and email alerts for unusual transactions and/or activities involving your bank/e-money accounts.

• In case you’ve already provided your SIM and other personal details, contact your bank/mobile phone provider immediately.

BDO encourages clients to report suspicious incidents to ReportPhish@bdo.com.ph, or get in touch with its representatives by logging in Messenger and looking for BDO Customer Care with the blue verified checkmark from Facebook. Clients may also call their hotline at 8631-8000.

Kuya Kim, Mariel Rodriguez Padilla, and Other Celeb Moms Team Up Against Invisible Kulob Stains with new Ariel

Have you ever experienced wanting to wear a favorite shirt only to be overwhelmed by that nauseating kulob smell? With those occasional rainy days suddenly coming up, many people think that kulob smell is caused by indoor drying.

In truth, kulob is caused by invisible stains on clothes. Mariel Rodriguez Padilla, Say Alonzo, and Joy Sotto are just some of those people wishing for kulob smell to disappear. A new online video answers their wish, thanks to Kuya Kim Atienza laying down the facts behind the new Ariel, and how its latest formulation gives the deepest clean that keeps clothes free from invisible kulob stains that cause the malodor.

Invisible kulob stains? How exactly can you see them? How can you get rid of them? Watch Kuya Kim, Mariel, Say, and Joy remove those invisible kulob stains in this video: 

http://bit.ly/ArielAgainstKulob #NoInvisibleStainNoKulob

Fast facts on Kulob

There are many myths behind that kulob stench that attaches on clothes. Good thing Kuya Kim shared his personal explanation for this, “Marami na akong mga naririnig na kuro-kuro tungkol sa amoy kulob sa damit, lalo na kapag maulan ang panahon. Alam mo ba na ang amoy kulob ay sanhi ng mga mantsang hindi nakikita ng ating mga mata? Maaari ring ito ay nagmula sa hindi sapat na paglalaba ng damit na siyang dahilan ng pagkakaroon ng mga mikro-organismong nagbibigay ng mabahong amoy ng kulob!”, explains Kuya Kim.

For the ever fashionable Mariel Rodriguez Padilla, the awful kulob smell can cut down her confidence even while wearing her best-looking outfits. In the past, the start of the rainy season meant putting up with kulob, a problem she has finally conquered with the help of Ariel’s innovative formula.

Kulob has also been an issue in Say Alonzo’s and Joy Sotto’s households before. Even with their children’s freshly-washed clothes looking clean, there’s still a tendency for that foul kulob smell to persist. They shared that this problem gets even worse during the rainy season, which deeply troubled meticulous moms like them. It’s a good thing they don’t have to worry anymore, since Ariel’s superior cleaning power can now effectively fight against those invisible kulob stains.

Myth-Busting with Ariel

In the video, Kuya Kim uses UV light to reveal that kulob are actually invisible stains. To the moms’ delight, these stains can now be efficiently cleaned by Ariel’s innovative formula that puts an end to all malodor problems. 

“Kulob smell on clothes is a problem for many Filipinos. Most people think this is caused by indoor drying, when it is actually due to invisible stains that harbor malodor-causing microorganisms. We hope that with Ariel’s innovative and superior formula, Filipinos will be able to enjoy fresh-smelling and deeply clean clothes all year long – rain or shine,” said Louie Morante, Regional Brand Communications for P&G Asia Fabric and Home Care.

Thanks to Ariel, anyone can have fresh-smelling clothes, no matter what the season. “With Ariel, siguradong wala nang invisible stains that can cause that amoy kulob on clothes. The new Ariel gives me the deepest clean that I need so that I can be confident that my clothes will always be fresh,” concludes Mariel. 

Experience the powerful deep-cleaning of Ariel’s improved formulation that fights those invisible kulob stains to keep your clothes smelling clean, fresh, and kulob-free all day everyday!

#ArielPhilippines #NoInvisibleStainNoKulob #KulobStory