BSP warns public on ‘unauthorized bank’

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) yesterday issued a warning to the public against the “unauthorized banking activities” of Global Investment Bank or GIB Philippines Bank Ltd. (GIB/GPBL).

“The BSP clarifies that GIB/GPBL has no ‘Certificate of Authority’ to operate as a bank in the Philippines and is not licensed to accept deposits. In view of this, the BSP strongly advises the public not to transact with GIB/GPBL,” said the BSP.

The central bank points to the GIB/ GPBL website (www.gibank.net) which it said contains information where the fraudulent bank was claiming that it was a licensed bank in the country and that it was “authorized to carry out banking transactions for international activities.”

According to its website, GIB/GPBL is an offshore banking company with local contacts and a branch located at Philippine Stock Exchange Center in Ortigas, Pasig City.

The BSP said these “fraudsters” mislead potential victims by providing a link in their website to a spoofed or fake BSP website created purposely to deceive and make it appear that it is listed as a BSPsupervised entity.

“To make sure that the correct website is accessed, the URL should be directly entered into the web browser instead of clicking links from unknown sources. (The) BSP reminds the public to remain vigilant and cautious in handling online financial transaction which should only be done on a secure, trusted and verified website,” said the BSP.

A website is “secure” if there is an “https” in the URL and a closed padlock icon ( ) on the status or address bar of the browser. It is also prudent to avoid doing online financial transactions from Internet cafés or public computer terminals, advised the BSP. “This will minimize the risk that sensitive information such as usernames and passwords are retained in the said terminals and eventually end up being used to conduct unauthorized transactions on behalf of the legitimate user.”