GoTyme Bank aside from its leading role in digital banking, is a frontrunner in the advocacy for safe electronic trade.

Co-CEO Albert Tinio advised its huge 5 million customer base and the public to be aware of the battle against scammers. He urged the scam-proofing of hard-earned resources and early reporting of scam incidents.

Tinio said, “Scams proliferate in the holiday season as the public engages in increased online shopping and use of mobile devices. Hindi nagpapahinga ang scammers. (Scammers never rest.)”

The most common scams during the Christmas season include fake online sellers and shopping websites as well as scams that have to do with free trials and gifts, loans, and “emergencies” involving relatives or friends.

A popular racket is spoofing. It is the collective term for scams in which scammers text (smishing), email (phishing), or call from a person pretending to be working with a bank or any trusted individual or organization to deceive the person into revealing personal information.

Spoofing often comes in the form of an urgent request meant to deceive a person into taking immediate action.

An example of spoofing through a text message: “We have detected unusual activity on your account. Please click on the link to complete verification. Otherwise, your account will be locked.”

Creativity, a scammer’s asset

Scammers can be very creative and here’s another example of a spoofing message to prove this point: “You’ve earned 530 points which are expiring soon. Use them before 31 December, 2024. You can withdraw them directly to enjoy cash rebates for top-ups, bill payments and online shopping. Click on the link to claim your points.”

GoTyme Bank, a collaboration between the Gokongwei Group and the digital banking group Tyme, does not send text or email messages with a link asking a person to log in, provide their personal information, or verify an account, Tinio stressed.

He warned the public, “Stay vigilant against spoofing. Analyze text messages or emails that you receive. Do not click on a link from suspicious text or email senders. Magduda at magdamot ng impormasyon. (Be doubtful and do not provide personal information.)”

“While we have undertaken the best cybersecurity practices and applied appropriate fraud prevention controls, scam prevention relies heavily on consumer education and action,” Tinio emphasized.

Educating consumers

GoTyme Bank has educated the public on scam prevention. It has reminded them to never share personal information as well as to use a strong password combination. If someone calls and asks for a one-time password (OTP), never share it.

Updating a cellphone's security settings is encouraged. Keep a cellphone's operating system and apps up-to-date with the latest security upgrades. Make sure a smartphone or tablet is protected by a personal identification number (PIN). Do not disclose the PIN to anyone.

Be alert when accessing an account in public. Do not use unsecured WiFi networks. Be extremely careful when typing confidential information such as account details and passwords on a cellphone in public places. Never leave a cellphone unattended.

GoTyme has reminded the public to do online shopping safely. They should use the official apps of their favorite shopping platforms.

Download these from trusted sources to ensure getting the legit app.

Avoid making any financial transactions when using a public network. Avoid transacting with online sellers. Always check the credentials of these online sellers. Beware of "too good to be true" offers. If an offer requires an immediate deposit without even seeing the item, stop. Do not continue the transaction.

Required characteristics

The bank has strongly encouraged early reporting of scam incidents. Tinio said, “When you get scammed, report it right away. Call your sending and receiving banks. File a police report. Submit the police report to the receiving bank immediately to have an official record of the incident.”

A study titled “The State of Scams in the Philippines 2024” by the Global Anti-Scam Alliance stated that Filipinos are reluctant to report to authorities, with about 67 percent of Filipinos not reporting scams.

Many people do not report a scam incident for reasons such as the money lost is small, the process is time-consuming, the recovery of lost money is not guaranteed, and it’s shameful to admit falling prey to a scam.

“The chance of recovering lost money is so slim. But you still need to file a police report and pursue a case to protect others from being scammed,” Tinio pointed out.

The bank has also collaborated with organizations such as Scam Watch Pilipinas, a cybersecurity movement intended to educate as many Filipinos as possible against cyber fraud and online scams.

Scam Watch Pilipinas has enjoined the public to develop four attitudes that could prevent them from becoming a victim of online scams: (1) Magdamot — never give money or information to strangers; (2) Magduda — never fall prey to too-good-to-be-true offers; (3) Mang-isnob — ignore text, email or social media messages with threats; and (4) Magsumbong — report scam incidents to the Inter-Agency Response Center (I-ARC) Hotline 1326.

The lack of cybersecurity literacy among Filipinos is what the movement is trying to address with an education campaign.

Secure, simple banking

GoTyme Bank seeks to be the most secure bank in the Philippines, according to Tinio. Its “Simple, Beautiful Banking” campaign is not merely about its business model, products and services, it’s also about making banking safe and secure for its customers.

The bank continues to invest in the best systems and technologies for cybersecurity and fraud management. It strengthens customer protection through an improved know your customer (KYC) process and the use of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technology to identify suspicious activities.

Hazard rises with AI

AI is the common tool being used by both banks and scammers. The scammers use AI in deepfake to fabricate fake IDs, forge faces, and clone voices. For banks, AI considerably boosts real-time fraud detection, as it can decipher vast amounts of data extremely fast.

According to Tinio, GoTyme has invested in advanced AI technology to fend off AI-aided cybercrime, thus readily flagging unusual transactions to prevent any fraud or scam attempt.

“With AI’s assistance, GoTyme can quickly detect anomalies in bank app usage, payments, and other transactions,” Tinio explained. “This all happens very quickly, enabling the bank to prevent fraud.”

GoTyme Bank has established a dedicated cybercrime and fraud division. The division focuses on improving the detection, prevention and prosecution of cybercrime.

It works with its counterparts in other banks to share insights as well as close accounts proven to have been used for fraudulent activities.

Further, the bank signed agreements with the Department of Justice, the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG) and the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) to strengthen customer protection against cybercrime.

Whoscall, a global anti-scam application, teamed up with GoTyme Bank to offer GoTyme users six months of free Whoscall Premium Basic.

It includes caller identification, which helps users recognize scam and spam calls; web checker, which provides instant alerts if users accidentally access phishing websites; and ID security, enabling users to check for personal data breaches and take proactive steps to safeguard their information.

GoTyme also remains focused on human interaction. It ensures that its customers and the public can communicate with humans, not AI when they have scam-related issues.

GoTyme’s helpful staff, not AIs, will walk people through the correct processes.