Protect

You might have already heard and read about phishing, vishing, and smishing scams.

It’s a good thing that you know these but make sure you don’t become a victim.

Here are SMART cyber hygiene practices to help you protect your personal and bank information and your funds.

Much like our personal hygiene, good cyber hygiene maintains the health and ensures the security of our devices and online accounts.

Protect yourself from scammers by observing these cyber hygiene practices.

Your safety starts with you.

Never disclose your personal info, passwords and card details to suspicious and unverified emails, phone calls or text messages.

Relationships shouldn’t be complicated, but passwords should.

To protect your online account against hackers, remember these tips when creating your password.

Don’t be deceived by people who call and ask for your personal or bank information.

They are vishing scammers who trick you in sharing your sensitive information.

Have you heard of smishing or SMS phishing?

These are deceptive text messages sent by fraudsters to steal your personal or financial information. The messages may look like they’re from a bank, credit card company, social networking site, online payment, website app or online store. Protect your identity and savings.

Here are some steps you can take to keep those “smishers” at bay.

Voice Phishing or Vishing is a form of phishing performed over the telephone.

Criminals pretend to represent a company and trick victims to reveal their sensitive or personal information.
Protect your hard-earned savings by learning how to distinguish a legitimate phone call from a vishing call.

Here are some tips to protect yourself against vishing.

Are you planning on “jailbreaking” your phone?

Jailbreaking is modifying your device to remove restrictions imposed by the manufacturer or operator.

This is usually done to install unauthorized apps, delete pre-installed apps, customize the control center.

However, the risks are much greater than the benefits.

Here are a few potential security risks that you should keep in mind.

One of the most common cyber attacks is drive by download. This is the unintentional download of malicious code from questionable/hacked websites or pop-up ads. It takes advantage of your apps, operating system or web browser that may contain security flaws due to lack of updates.

Shelter your sensitive information from the greedy hands of online criminals. Follow these safety tips to avoid becoming one of their victims.

Never take your security for granted. Avoid websites that may contain malicious code. Stick to mainstream or well-established sites you normally use.

Keep your web browser and operating system updated. New patches help seal gaps in defenses where drive-by-download code could burrow in.

Drive-by download attacks often use online ads to upload infections. Using an ad blocker can help reduce your exposure to this type of attack.

Be wary of keeping too many unnecessary programs and apps on your device. The more plug-ins you have, the more susceptible you are to infection. Only keep the software you trust and use often.

Here are some safety tips to remember.

Scammers do not discriminate between rich or poor, newbies or long-time investors.

They entice you with get-rich-quick schemes that are just too good to be true.

Protect your hard-earned savings by learning how to safeguard yourself against investment fraud.

Change your passwords regularly to secure your accounts. Here’s how to create a strong and unique UCPB Connect password.

Enroll now to manage your accounts more conveniently! Visit ucpb.com/connect to learn more.

What do you say to online fraudsters who attempt to steal your personal information? Not today.

Protect yourself against fraud by keeping a step ahead of shady characters who deceive people through clever schemes online.

If you notice any suspicious activity in your UCPB account, report it immediately to (02) 8811-9111 or crc@ucpb.com.

Fraudsters have different tactics to trick you to invest in their company.

Stay on guard and avoid becoming drawn into a scam.

Watch out for these red flags when someone offers you a “business opportunity” that’s just too good to be true.

Are you on another online shopping adventure?

Be cautious when visiting a website new to you. Check if the address bar contains a padlock icon and starts with “https” as proof that it’s legit.

Use your UCPB Visa Debit Card only in safe and reputable websites for your online purchases.

Keep your online banking credentials safe and secure.

Avoid using public Wi-Fi connections when you need to log in to your online banking account.

These unknown Wi-Fi sources may be coming from hackers who can then access your browser history, username and password and steal your funds.

Be skeptical when you receive a text message saying that your account was hacked and needs to be fixed by clicking on a link.

The link will send you to a fake landing page that looks very similar to your bank’s online platform.

Don’t proceed. This is a smishing scam. Entering your username and password is the scammer’s key to get into your online banking account and steal your funds.

Don’t respond to random text messages asking for your personal and bank info or click the links included in it.

These are smishing scams disguised as text messages. They attempt to get your personal info, passwords and card details to be able to steal your funds.

When you receive a smishing text message, report it to your bank immediately.

Have you received a text or direct message asking for your personal and bank info so you can allegedly get your amelioration (ayuda) benefits?

Don’t ever share your personal and bank info. These messages are scams trying to obtain your online credentials for fraudulent activities such as stealing your funds.

Always verify and rely on official/legit sources of information. Remember, vigilance will protect you.

Don’t be tricked by suspicious emails asking you to click links and attachments. Or informing you that you won’t be able to access your account if you don’t provide your personal/account information immediately.

If you see one on your inbox, don’t click the links; delete the email immediately.

These are phishing scams that can get your personal/bank information on your phone or computer and steal your funds.

Saw an online ad enticing you to download the attachment or click the link?

Never download them from unknown sources or use unlicensed apps. Beware of malware apps that may get into your phone’s confidential info to steal your funds.

Download apps only from reliable sources like Google Play and Apple stores.

Don’t let anyone access your hard-earned money. Always cover the ATM keypad when entering your PIN..

Protect your card information when you shop online or when you’re out in the malls.

Don’t use your password to log into any questionable sites. As much as possible, don’t enter your card information using a public wifi.

If you notice any suspicious transaction on your account, report it immediately to our ATM Hotline at (02) 8811-9292 or to your maintaining branch.

Make it a habit to review your account statements details very well.

If you notice any transaction on your account that is unfamiliar or suspicious, report it immediately to (02) 8811-9292 or crc@ucpb.com.

Do you save your credit or debit card details online?

While saving it might be convenient, it might be easier for the bad guys to use the information to access your account.

Take precautions and never save these important details online. As they say, prevention is better than a cure.

Never give your personal or account information especially PINs or passwords over the phone.

Banks and other reputable companies will never ask for your personal information over the phone.

If you have any doubts about the caller, hang up and inform your bank immediately.

Always remember to log out from your mobile banking app after every online banking session.

This will prevent hackers from stealing your personal and account information.

Phishing is one of the easiest forms of cyber-attack. It obtains sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and card details by sending you an email that looks like a legitimate communication from a trustworthy company.

In case you receive a suspicious e-mail, do not click on any links and delete it immediately.

Checks contain some of your personal and account information.

To avoid identity theft and financial fraud, shred or cut old and unused checks or any document that contain sensitive data.

Be careful of what you download online.

Always use official mobile banking apps, especially for online banking. These apps are tested thoroughly to ensure your data is secure and safe.

Never use a suspicious bank application because its creators might steal your private information.

Reminder: Beware of phishing scams

Be cautious when you encounter suspicious emails as these may be phishing scams attempting to steal your information.

Here are some reminders to help protect yourself and your funds from fraudsters.

Stay safe and vigilant!

Please be advised that there is a growing number of reported phishing incidents online. Unscrupulous entities will send a message to your email asking for your vital personal and financial data such as your user name password or bank account as if it were from a legitimate source for the purpose of committing fraud. They may also ask you to click on a link or download an attachment to update your pertinent information there.

Your first line of defense against phishing is to be vigilant. Protect yourself by keeping the following in mind:

1. Emails with links to fraudulent websites
   1. Ignore phishing messages. Do not be coerced into following their instructions simply because they have threatened you that something will happen to your account. (i.e. your account will be permanently blocked) if you don’t respond.

 

• 2. No legitimate business, such as UCPB, will ask for your important personal and financial information like your user name and password via email.
  3. Be on the lookout for spelling and grammatical errors in your email messages to determine if it’s a hoax or a legitimate one. UCPB for instance may be spelled as UCBP which at first glance may seem to be the right spelling or letter O is replaced by the number 0 to fool the recipient.
  4. Beware of clicking on links contained in email messages as this may lead you to fraudulent websites that plan to get pertinent data from you. If you want to access the official site, type the website in your browser’s address bar or add it to your bookmarks instead.
• Fraudulent Websites
  1. Access the official UCPB website by typing www.ucpb.com on your browser’s address bar and look for the links to UCPB Connect, CM.Biz or the appropriate facility.

2. 2. The legitimate login page for UCPB Connect will only ask for the User Name and Password, and never ask for email addresses and passwords, or ATM Card Numbers and ATM PINs.
3. General care for your bank accounts
   1. Update your login password regularly. Do not use passwords that can be easily attributed to you such as your name or birthday.
   2. Regularly monitor your bank accounts and credit cards.

For any phishing-related concerns or problems on the use of our UCPB’s Internet Banking Facilities, you may call our Customer Relations Center hotline at telephone numbers 8811-9111 or 1-800-1-888-9777 or send a message via email at crc@ucpb.com.

 

Dear UCPB clients,

Please be advised that there is a growing number of reported phishing incidents online. Unscrupulous entities will send a message to your email asking for your vital personal and financial data such as your user name password or bank account as if it were from a legitimate source for the purpose of committing fraud. They may also ask you to click on a link or download an attachment to update your pertinent information there.

Your first line of defense against phishing is to be vigilant. Protect yourself by keeping the following in mind:

• No legitimate business, such as UCPB, will ask for your important personal and financial information like your user name and password via email.
• Ignore phishing messages. Do not be coerced into following their instructions simple because they have threatened you that something will happen to your account. (i.e. your account will be permanently blocked) if you don’t respond.
• Report the phishing incident to the company they are fraudulently using so that they can enforce appropriate security measures.
• Be on the lookout for spelling and grammatical errors in your email messages to determine if it’s a hoax or a legitimate one. UCPB for instance may be spelled as UCBP which at first glance may seem the right spelling or letter O is replaced by the number 0 to fool the recipient.
• Beware of clicking on links contained in email messages as this may just be one of the ploys to get pertinent data from you. If you want to access the official site, type the website in your browser’s address bar or add it to your bookmarks instead. When logging on to UCPB’s internet banking facilities, the default URL address www.ucpb.com or http://www.ucpb.biz should appear in the address bar.
• Exercise caution when opening attachments or downloading files. These may contain viruses or software that may pose security threats to your computer.
• Update your user password regularly (regularly change password). Do not use passwords that can be easily attributed to you such as your name or birthday.
• Regularly monitor your bank accounts and credit cards.

For any phishing-related concerns or problems on the use of our UCPB’s Internet Banking Facilities, you may call our Customer Relations Center hotline at telephone numbers 8811-9111 or 1-800-1-888-7777 or send a message via email at crc@ucpb.com