As it continues to intensify its fight against scammers and other cyber criminals, GCash issues a stern warning against users who sell or lend their accounts, adding they will face the full force of the law.
These accounts are considered as money mules wherein they are used by scammers to receive stolen or illicit money and obscure the source of funds while keeping the criminals’ identity secret. While some money mules are aware that what they’re doing is illegal, others are more unwitting.
GCash has been receiving reports from authorities that fraudsters are now going to impoverished or rural areas and offering individuals P150 – P500 if they register to GCash using their phones and their identities. The SIM cards and the GCash accounts are then turned over to the buyer, who then sells them to other scammers.
“According to authorities, persons whose identities were used in scams also face jail time if it’s proven that these individuals voluntarily sold their accounts,” said Ingrid Beroña, Chief Risk Officer of GCash. “That’s why we strongly urge our customers to never sell their GCash accounts to avoid identity theft and get their name linked to fraudulent activities without their knowledge.”
GCash has been working closely with the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG) to clamp down on this fraudulent practice. Likewise, it has also been in close coordination with other authorities like the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), the National Bureau of Investigation Cybercrime Division (NBI-CCD), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC).
Thanks to its partnership with authorities, to date, GCash has already helped cause the arrest of six sellers of verified wallets with a total of 741 SIM cards confiscated.
With so many text scams and online fraud activities lately, GCash has also been proactively reminding its users to protect their accounts by staying vigilant and taking full control of their e-wallets and transactions. Users can only avail of customer support through the GCash Help Center at https://help.gcash.com and is not available via messenger, SMS, or other chat apps. GCash will NEVER send a text or email asking for your personal information, MPIN, and One-Time-Pin (OTP).
Customers can also report scams at the help center by clicking the chatbot Gigi on the website and typing, “I want to report a scam.”