Land Bank: Systems are safe and secure

NEWS UPDATE–Land Bank of the Philippines just released a press statement about the claimed hacking of the accounts of two teachers that was earlier reported by the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition.

William Montecalvo, a teacher from Quezon City, claimed to have received at least 13 one-time password verifications last year, November 12, which urged him to report to the nearest Landbank branch, and discovered on the next day that he had already lost P121,000 that were transferred to a digital wallet account.

Crisanto Cruz, another teacher who claimed to have also lost a total of P84,815 (P50,025 and P34,379) last December 2021, also discovered that the stolen funds were transferred to an electronic wallet account, plus to another bank account.

For clarification, the Land Bank of the Philippines reached out to Palawan Daily and released a press statement that reads:

LANDBANK systems are safe and secure

“The Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) clarifies that its systems were not hacked and remain secure, following reports that alleged unauthorized transactions were experienced by two teachers who maintain payroll accounts with LANDBANK.

“According to the initial investigation by LANDBANK, the devices of the teachers were hacked via phishing which compromised their personal information.

“The Bank has already reached out to the affected customers and is working on the resolution of these isolated cases at the soonest possible time.

“LANDBANK assures customers that their accounts and personal information remain safe, as the Bank maintains the highest level of security in all its systems.

The Bank also advises the public to remain vigilant against phishing scams and all other forms of online banking fraud. LANDBANK reminds its customers to refrain from opening suspicious emails, links and attachments, and sharing your account and personal information. Official LANDBANK representatives will never ask for the critical financial information of customers.

“To report fraudulent activities, LANDBANK customers may contact their respective handling Branch or the LANDBANK’s Customer Care Hotline through (02) 8-405-7000 or 1-800-10-405-7000, or via email at customercare@mail.landbank.com.”