I Got Phished Out Today By a Fake GCash Notification

It didn't help that I had a bad night of aching muscles and earache. I woke up in the morning finding an email from "GCash" which looked legitimate. What happened was that I lost some money in my GCash wallet. Fortunately, it wasn't my life savings compared to the loss of Tong Zou--a Chinese-Canadian who lost it all during the rise of Quadriga-CX. I won't disclose any amount of money in my personal accounts for confidential reasons. What I'm going to write right now is a warning. Granted, I'm not tech-savvy so I wasn't too aware of phishing. I did reject a couple of phishing such as those too good to be true employment.

However, I wasn't so wise today and ended up "verifying" my account and lost the money I put in the GCash wallet set aside to pay for groceries. The official GCash site or the application is where transactions should be done. I even forgot that the MPIN and the OTP should be kept personal. I had to change my MPIN because of that. Besides, what was even worse was that I failed to see the anatomy was that while it looked legitimate--the email wasn't. That's what I failed to consider during the time I was emotionally and physically tired. I should've taken rest days when I should've.

This is the sad reality we need to face. Some of my peers (I won't disclose their names) were scammed too. There's always the fear of temporary maintenance and the like. Obviously, what scammers do is appeal to emotions. How I lost money last 2012 was because the scammer appealed to my emotions. After some time, I fell to it (again) after I woke up feeling so bad. I tend to forget the warning not to do any important transactions when not in the mood. It's like don't drive when you're too angry or drunk. I tried having a car accident near one of my favorite restaurants because I felt so bad.

What I did was screenshot the transaction. The number where the money was sent was there. There are some financial institution employees that want to feed their own pockets. You can compare them to extortioners at the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). If dishonest tax mappers should be reported then so should employees who are like that. Then again, some people have targeted even the nobody officers who aren't megastars in the financial world. It seems these phishers will target anyone who has money even if the person isn't a billionaire. A wrong assumption I had was that because I wasn't a big-time rich guy I wouldn't be targeted. I tend to make that assumption way too many times. Today was indeed a hard lesson. Even a friend of mine who was a "low-level worker" was even targeted--she was someone who's struggling financially yet she was even targeted. These phishers are as heartless as robbers who would even rob the barely-earning working class!

Like Tong Zou in the documentary Trust No One: Hunt for the Crypto King--I'm here to send a warning since some people are still unaware. Just because I'm an MBA graduate doesn't mean I'm invincible. I tend to think my graduate degree makes me better. It doesn't if I just use it as a shield against criticism. In fact, some people who got scammed by Ponzi schemes were MBA students too. The cybercrime world is a very deep and dark world. Cryptocurrency is something that might sooner or later appeal to some who rejected it. I had to unsubscribe from some financial channels because of their recommendation of cryptocurrency. This no is no different--a scam is a scam.

Davide vs. Mahathir: Which Lolo Should Filipinos Take Economic Advice From?

The real issue isn't that something is old or new. Instead, if something old or new still works, or doesn't work! Many modern laws are built on some ancient principles, while adjusting to the current times! The Constitution of Japan is actually older than the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines. However, it's more effective for the reasons that (1) their constitution is silent when it comes to regulating economic activities (ex., protectionist measures), and (2) it's a parliamentary system. Honestly, it's a pretty straightforward constitution compared to ours! As Mahatir Mohamad turned 100 today, I would like to raise up Atty. Hilario G. Davide Jr. once again. The problem isn't Davide's age but his unwillingness to embrace change when needed (read here ). This time, it's time to bring up a contrast between wise old people and unwise old people. A young person can be right where the old person is wrong. A young person can be wiser because he or she lea...

Overspending as a Narcotic of the Filipino Masses

Harvard Health Publishing It's almost time for the New Year, right? However, there's the problem that so many Filipinos just refuse to do any financial New Year's resolutions . It's a continued series of broken New Year's resolutions year after year , such as not doing anything about one's financial and economic literacy . Then again, can Filipinos learn financial literacy when the school environment is too theoretical ? As I observe the same cycle in the Philippines, from January to December, it has always been a financial mess for many Filipinos. The problem starts with mishandling money, such as how paychecks are often handled by people . There's always some joy in spending, whether we want to admit it or not We can't deny that if we bought what we want (especially with one's own money), there's some feeling of satisfaction . For example, a person who stops begging from their parents and starts buying what they want, with their money , can ...

Is Christmas Toxic Positivity a Cause or an Effect of the Philippines' Lack of Progress?

Lessandra When it's Christmas, it's so easy to think of the song of the late Andy Williams, "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year". The music itself reeks of toxic positivity, whether one likes it or not. It's a shame, really, because December 20 was also the anniversary of Asia's Titanic, the sinking of the Doña Paz ! We live in a society that somehow never learns from its mistakes, like a person who's stuck in gambling debt, is still hoping to get rich gambling . Despite all that, Christmas toxic positivity still abounds in the Philippines. We still have a lot of ongoing bad habits, such as starting Christmas in September and then doing last-minute Christmas shopping during the week of Christmas. That's why every time I drive on the road on Christmas, I tend to shout, "Isn't it any wonder why the Philippines never improves?" The term Noche Buena has evolved over time . For some, it's simply the Christmas dinner. However, so...

Confusing Foreign Direct Investment for Foreign Imperialism for the Bajillionth Time

I guess those fools of the Philippine Anti-Fascist League (and many of its deluded supporters) either refuse to get it or are blatantly lying. Almost every rally held by what many believe are CPP-NPA legal fronts also confuses foreign investors for foreign invasion or even foreign imperialism . Once again, do I need to say that 100% FDI ownership is all about the shares and not land ownership ? What makes it even more hypocritical is that they are actually recording these things on imported media . They're sharing their anti-FDI rants using imported devices, imported platforms, and imported social media (read here ). When I do ask them on Facebook, they say how can they take them seriously and that they're "simply forced to participate in capitalism". Did anybody (especially those they call "evil capitalists") force them to buy the expensive Apple equipment when they could've settled for Xiaomi or Huawei? A simple research on the dictionary will tell us...

Filipino First Policy Linked with Crab Mentality

Having sea crab yesterday or just eating crab, I always think of that old commercial in the 1990s. It was called, "Iwasan ang crab mentality." or "Avoid crab mentality." This makes me recall a scene when I was a child. I saw a pail full of mud crabs (called alimango in Filipino) and if one crab got out, the others pulled it down. The TV commercial showed how if the crabs got together, they could all escape their grizzly fate of becoming eaten for human consumption. Chefs are just lucky crabs pull each other down. However, it also shows that the crabs would rather all be cooked together than let that crab escape. Unfortunately, crab mentality is one of the biggest problems in the Philippines. It's not all that unique among Filipinos. However, it doesn't Filipinos should ever take comfort in engaging in a crab mentality, just because other people do it . Here's an interesting excerpt from Inquirer by Jerry Peres de Tagle PhD: Studies in human behavior ...

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