Various Facebook users, including local celebrity Pokwang, expressed frustration and anger on Saturday after discovering that money had reportedly disappeared from their GCash accounts.
One user, Rozel Gega-Turingan, shared her distress over losing P4,000 after checking her GCash account.
“Buti na lang naibayad ko na sa supplier ko ang laman gcash ko, kundi goodbye puhunan nanaman ako. Nagbabasa lang ako ng newsfeed ko at nakita ko post ni Pokwang na nawalan sa gcash. Tapos check ko ang aking gcash kasi may laman pa yun na bayad buyer ko kahapon, at ayan na nga instant 4k nawala sakin. Di biro yan at pinaghihirapan ko yan kada live selling ko sa page ko huhuhu.. Sana maibalik, submitted ticket already. Sana maayos nyo yan GCASH!!” she posted.
(It's a good thing I already paid my supplier. Had I not, I'd be saying goodbye to my investment! I saw that Pokwang had lost funds, so I checked my app and saw that I had instantly lost P4,000. It's no joke; I worked hard for that through live selling on my page. Hopefully, I'll get it back. I submitted a ticket. I hope you fix it, GCash!)
Another GCash subscriber, Nica Gloduve-Conching, posted that she lost P38,000.
“Never ako nagkiclick ng links at pag may suspicious messages, dinidelete ko talaga agad. Wala rin ako natatandaang unusual na ginawa ko or pinasukang website. Ngayong madaling araw lang around 2am, may sunod sunod na notifications from my gcash app na ‘All Ang Paos were claimed!’ kaya I logged in to my gcash app to check then nakita ko na lang nasa 1,116 na lang ang laman ng gcash wallet ko. Nawala ang 38k ko with 17 na tig 2k unauthorized transactions sa iba’t ibang numbers in just a minute ng sabay sabay,” she narrated.
(I have never clicked suspicious links, and I always delete suspicious messages. I don't remember visiting any unusual websites, either. At around 2 AM, I received several GCash notifications in a row saying 'All Ang Paos were claimed!', so I logged in to GCash to check. I then saw that I had only P1,116 left in my wallet. I lost P38,000 through 17 unauthorized transactions worth P2,000 each, going to different numbers in just a minute.)
For her part, Pokwang, on her Meta official page, voiced her frustration after her account sent money to 30 unregistered numbers without her knowledge.
“Naghahanap buhay po ako ng marangal nagbibigay po ako ng hanap buhay sa mga single mom, tapos isang umaga pagka gising mo simot ang laman ng GCASH accnt??? ibat ibang number na hindi naka rehistro halos nasa 30 numero na hindi naka rehistro!!!” she said.
(I make an honest living and provide livelihood to single moms, then one morning I wake up and find that my GCash funds have been wiped out, sent to almost 30 unregistered numbers!)
She also criticized the SIM Card Registration Law, calling it ineffective.
“Ano nangyare sa registered sim policy ngayon? nakakaiyak binangon ko mag isa ang negosyong pinabayaan ng taong inasahan ko pinagkatiwalaan ko pati ba naman dito naisahan parin ako? nakakaiyak talaga sana naman @gcashofficial tulungan nyo mga kagaya kong naghahanap buhay ng patas at nagbibigay ng hanap buhay din,” Pokwang added.
(What happened to the SIM card registration policy? It's saddening that I built up my business on my own after being let down by someone I trusted, and now I've been taken advantage of again. It's heartbreaking, and I hope @gcashofficial helps people like me who work hard to make a living and support others.)
Following the incident, GCash became a trending topic on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday. GCash released a statement:
"A few GCash users were affected due to errors in an ongoing system reconciliation process. This incident was isolated to a few users, and we assure our customers that their accounts are safe.
We have identified and reached out to affected accounts. Wallet adjustments are ongoing," the statement said.