Several teachers, including an assistant principal, were allegedly victims of the phishing scam and lost money from their bank accounts ranging from P900 to P200,000.
According to a report by Ian Cruz on GMA News “24 Oras” on Tuesday, among the victims and lost P100,000 was Marlene Garcia, assistant principal of San Matias National High School in Sto. Tomas, Pampanga.
The money was supposed to be for medical treatment and to pay off debts.
According to Garcia, someone sent her an email with her bank’s name and logo last December 26.
The email allegedly stated that Garcia needed to update her bank account for added security.
She followed the process stated in the email and logged into her online bank account.
She allegedly tried to enter her one time pin (OTP) three times, but it became invalid.
Some teachers lost money due to phishing scam
But soon she received an email from the bank stating that she had transferred P50,000 to another bank account. She said the message was repeated a few minutes later for another P50,000.
“Sana’y makonsensya na lang sila tapos matulungan na lang din kami ng servicing bank namin at ng DepEd (Department of Education) para kahit papaano eh mapigilan,” asked Garcia.
Garcia allegedly immediately informed her bank of what happened, but she was still waiting for the result of the investigation.
According to the Teachers Dignity Coalition (TDC), about 20 teachers fell victim to the LandBank payroll account scam.
Most of the victimized teachers are from the National Capital Region, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Bicol Region, and Western Visayas.
It is said that between P900 to P200,000 were obtained from the victims.
In a statement, LandBank clarified that their system had not been hacked. Instead, what happened was an unauthorized transaction on the part of the teachers.
“According to the initial investigation by LandBank, the devices of the teachers were hacked via phishing which compromised their personal information,” the bank said.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said the National Bureau of Investigation is already investigating other incidents of phishing scams on bank accounts.
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