Skip to main content

Phishing Can Be Done By the LEGALLY EMPLOYED in LEGITIMATE Financial Institutions


It might be easy for some to ignore the obvious phishing emails such as a complete stranger asking for money, a too-good-to-be-true employment offer, a Ponzi scheme offering huge returns in such a short time, a pyramid scam that promises to pay you every time you recruit, etc. when you've guilt some experience. I was once hit by a pyramid scam and lost a small amount of money. I decided not to pursue recruiting because I was too busy trying to get my bachelor's degree in business administration. However, what's so often ignored is the world of employee fraud. Besides, some phishing activities can be done by legally employed financial institution employees. Don't believe me? Well, I believe that's what happened to me today when I lost some money in a GCash "verification" process since it looked so legitimate. Apparently, the GCash scam was done were legally employed staff and not some programmer. Some people are so greedy that they want money fast regardless of the consequences. 

There's really the world of internal banking fraud. The Net Guardians website gives this introduction in "A-Z of Internal Banking Fraud" (I suggest taking time to read it) which is often ignored and I tend to do so:

IT IS NO EXAGGERATION TO SAY THAT THE GREATEST FRAUD RISK THAT BANKS FACE WALKS THROUGH THEIR DOORS EVERY MORNING AND SITS DOWN TO WORK
Frauds carried out by bank employees are a huge global problem. In its 2020 Report to the Nations, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) assessed 2,504 cases of internal fraud from 125 countries, which led to estimated losses of $3.6bn. Banking and Financial Services accounted for the largest share of internal fraud cases examined by the ACFE, with 15.4% of the total.

The A-Z of Internal Banking Fraud highlights the scale of this problem and the different vulnerabilities that internal fraudsters exploit, and explains how advanced anti-fraud technologies can combat it. Bank employees are uniquely well placed to discover and take advantage of weaknesses in their organization’s internal controls – perhaps by abusing their level of access to the bank’s IT systems or by targeting dormant accounts.

But FinTech anti-fraud solutions are improving all the time – their ability to identify and block suspicious activity in real time is becoming the first line of defense against the biggest fraud risk in banking.

So, what I'm thinking is that if some people lost their money in AXA (where I currently invest some of my money)--it could be a result of fraudulent employees. AXA is a worldwide deposit company and of a good reputation. However, there will always be Judas Iscariot employees every now and then. These inside-jobbers. It could be from a good bank like Metrobank or Banco De Oro. It could be in a reliable form of digital banking like GCash. Robbery in broad daylight can happen because of employee fraud. 

This 2022, another report from The Vibes.com: Malaysia from Every Side has it that a bank employee cheated millions of customers in Malaysia. It would be very interesting to read that a certain Klang MP Charles Santiago filed a case against the employee. Here's an excerpt of that scam incident:

However, after some of these clients met each other, they suspected that they may have been victims of a scam upon seeing no sign of profits deposited in their bank accounts.

“Realising that there may have been a scam involved, a number of police reports were filed by the victims on March 23 and 24,” Santiago said in the letter.

When asked by The Vibes during a brief WhatsApp conversation, the Klang MP explained that he is unsure if the authorities have initiated investigations.

Attempts to contact South Klang OCPD Cha Hoong Fong for comment drew no response.

Meanwhile, Santiago has urged the manager of the bank branch to conduct an investigation into the matter soon and meet with the victims to provide an explanation as well as compensation.

It could be seen that not all scammers run an obvious shady operation. Not all scammers will invite you to some dark alley or obscure location like those I get from the so-called lottery wins or forex scams. These scams can come from those who are legally employed in registered financial institutions. Some of them may even go as far as to lie that they're the bank manager (when they aren't), could be a very corrupt bank manager, or just anybody who works in a financial institution just for the profits. These people want the money as soon as possible rather than having to work hard for it. Some of them may be paid well and are just pretending to be mistreated by their bosses. 

These employees are clearly breaking employment rules. No financial institution employee is ever allowed to ask for stuff like the personal passwords of the customers. They're the customers' privacy. Yet, some may try to either sweet talk like saying, "Your account could be deactivated." since the use of obvious force isn't going to work. They could also send emails that look legitimate like they could copy the template from where they work. If you know any, better screenshot that email or report that employee over to management. Such people legally employed in legitimate financial institutions might as well work for cryptocurrency companies if they want a fast buck. Though, I believe they're using their legitimate employment as a cover for their illegal activities since it's one of the best ways criminals can do their business--having a legal front to hide the illegal behind. 

References

"A-Z of Internal Banking Fraud" (July 07. 2021)

Popular posts from this blog

Does the Grades-Over-Learning Approach Contribute to Students Hating Mathematics?

Schoolessons Some time ago, I wrote about why I used to hate school . The big problem has to be that the education system cares more about grades than learning . A good grade is indeed a sign of good character. A good grade is only good if it is achieved without cheating. However, for a grade to be really good--I believe that it must spring out from learning . However, the education system has been so focused on grades over learning that students end up cheating as a result (read here ). It affects every subject since a faulty system is a faulty school of thought. I'm going to really point out that I hated school because of the grades over learning approach. It's always all about grade shaming and even the best teachers end up indirectly or inadvertently participating in it. I still remember two of my best strictest teachers. One was as stern as the late Miriam Defensor Santiago. Another was the reason why I never dropped out.  This time, I'd like to focus again on mathemat...

Is Jollibee "Invading" South Korea Now as It's About to Acquire 70% of Shabu All Day?

I must confess that I find this new rather hilarious . It's because the word shabu is often associated with drugs. All the while, shabu shabu is a Korean delicacy! Well, I'm going to say that Jollibee Foods Corporation has now become a multinational buyer . Jollibee acquired 70% of Compost Coffee back in 2024 . This year, Jollibee as a multinational corporation is now acquiring Shabu All Day for PHP 5.1 billion pesos. Is Jollibee checkmating South Korea or is the Philippines conquering South Korea not just by OFWs but als through Jollibee? The answer is still no. From GMA News , we can read this article by Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas: Under the deal, Shabu All Day will be consolidated into Jollibee Foods Corp.’s (JFC) financial statements immediately upon completion of the acquisition for a total consideration equivalent to KRW127 billion. Completion of the transaction is subject to closing and financing conditions. The acquisition is expected to lead to a 2% jump in revenues, incre...

Are We Teaching Math in School... Wrong?

Schoolessons I could remember hating math while growing up. I actually and frequently had a vicious cycle that went like this--(1) I hate math, (2) I don't study math because I hate it, (3) I'd rather play video games or watch TV than study and practice math because I hate it, (4) I fail math exam because I didn't study, (5) it's always I hate math because I believe I'll never get it. In fact, I even felt like I wanted to quit school altogether and get into a fight with my parents because of math. It was a vicious cycle hard to break from, especially during our K+10 days. I remember being enrolled in Kumon classes for the summer when I was approaching Grade 6 (graduating year), I almost didn't graduate because of mathematics, and I had to have tutorials. I always felt math sucked, I'll never get good at it, and I'll never get better. I just kept thinking how "I hate math!" was my mantra and hating people who were better in the subject than I am...

#SahodItaasPresyoIbaba Economics' Understanding of How Gasoline Prices Work

International State College of the Philippines Today is Flor Contempacion Day , and rallies are expected. However, whether it's Flor's death anniversary or not, rallies are expected for the wrongest of reasons. I would like to address this photo from the International State College of the Philippines' Facebook page. The demands here are rather clunky and stupid. We have the following demands that would naturally clash with each other, such as: No to the oil deregulation law while demanding lower oil prices. This is simply ignoring the basic fundamentals of economics, namely the law of supply and demand . They say that oil companies are greedy for gain. These rallyists probably don't really understand the difference between revenues and profits . Let's understand the Oil Deregulation Law  The Oil Deregulation Law, or the Republic Act No. 8479 , passed on February 10, 1998, under the late Fidel Valdez Ramos. Here's how the liberalization works: CHAPTER II  LIBERAL...

The Tragic Windfall of the Late Flor Contemplacion's Family

PEH.ph Last year, I wrote an article talking about Flor Contemplacion crybabies spreading fake news for 30 years . I noticed that the movie could be watched for free on YouTube (which is one hour and 52 minutes long), and the one that you had to pay for via rent or personal soft copy ( which is two hours and two minutes long). I was looking into the film and realized the "for free" version lacks the exaggerated water dunking and electrocution torture scene, which I believe is available, which is a ten-minute difference. I remember seeing the old version where Flor was tortured by Singaporean police via water dunking and electrocution, to get an answer out of her. The famous line by the late Nora Aunor was, "I did not kill anybody!" It's 31 years, and I don't expect the fake news about Flor to stop just because  it's past 30. No, fake news is that hard to kill even in the digital age. It reminds me of the fate of Flor's sons , where one of them, Sandr...