More teachers and nonteaching personnel of the Department of Education (DepEd) have complained about unauthorized withdrawals from their payroll accounts in Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank) and disputed claims of the state-run bank that they were victims of a “phishing” scam.
From 11 complainants on Monday, Teachers’ Dignity Coalition chair Benjo Basas said in an interview with dzBB on Tuesday that based on their latest data, 20 teachers and DepEd personnel have reported unauthorized transactions done through their Landbank payroll accounts.
The amount of money lost ranged from P160,000 to P200,000, he said.
“We’re not blaming Landbank but we’re asking for an investigation. The teachers were just hurt because it seemed like they were quick to conclude that the devices were compromised,” Basas added.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Tuesday said he would order the National Bureau of Investigation to look into the reported online theft that defrauded public school teachers.
“The NBI is already looking into phishing of bank accounts on a broader scale, but I am minded to issue a separate directive to the NBI in the case of the teacher-victims,” Guevarra said.
Last week, the NBI arrested two Nigerians and three alleged Filipino cohorts suspected of stealing money from the bank accounts of about 700 depositors of BDO Unibank through a similar fraudulent internet scheme.
In a statement on Tuesday, Landbank maintained that its systems were safe and secure, saying the incidents involving teachers were isolated cases and that they had fallen victim to a “phishing” scam that compromised their personal information.
Phishing occurs when users get an email or text message instructing them to click an attachment or link, which then gives the scammer access to the victims’ bank details. (©Philippine Daily Inquirer 2021)
