Fraud Prevention: Beat scammers in 3 steps

Cyber criminals are getting smarter and bolder with their tricks and techniques. They are experts in finding information about YOU, spending hours and days discovering vulnerabilities until you let your guard down.

Fraud attacks such as phishing, identity theft, and spam texts are sometimes easy to spot. But they can also be well-made and hard to detect. Rule of thumb: think and verify. This can protect your money as well as your data.

At SAVii, we take cybersecurity and fraud prevention very seriously. As your reliable Salary Finance Platform, we’re here to guide you to better security.

There are a lot of ways to avoid fraud but the most important tip is to stay alert and be extra vigilant. Here are simple steps to beat scammers at their own game:

THINK. The cool thing about today’s hyper-digital technology is that you can easily send and receive anything. However, it also widens the net for phishers. So think before you click! Do not quickly click on random links or forward them to others when you’re unsure of the source. If you must visit a website, type the official site address or look for the lock symbol and “https” to see whether the website is secure or not.

VERIFY. Be careful of communications that require you to do something like claiming a prize, sharing personal information, sending money, etc. If it says “urgent” then it’s a red flag. Always get confirmation through other channels and check the legitimacy of messages by directly reaching out to institutions involved. It’s totally fine to disregard communications that rush you to do something.

REPORT. If you think you’ve been scammed, immediately alert all affected financial institutions and ask them to close or block your accounts. After that, file a report through the platforms below. Be specific with your complaint (identify the type of fraud and details that were compromised) and attach relevant documents.

• Fraud, scam, abuses related to the products and services of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas – BSP Online Buddy (BOB)
• Fraud, scam, abuses related to lending and investment with SEC-registered companies – Security and Exchange Commission
• Investment scams, cybercrime, and other criminal abuses – National Bureau of Investigation
• Text scam – National Telecommunications Commission

At the end of the day, it’s your gut feeling that will tell you when something is wrong. Trust your instincts – think and verify – and you will be able to protect your hard earned money. Bookmark SAVii Education for more resources and fraud-related stories.

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