NBI continues probe on phishing attack on teachers

MANILA, Philippines — The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) will coordinate with banks and the Anti-Money Laundering Council following a phishing scam that targeted teachers’ bank accounts.

In an interview with ABS-CBN News, NBI spokesperson Gisele Garcia-Dumlao said the NBI probe continues on the scam that attacked teachers’ Landbank accounts at the height of the pandemic in 2021 and 2022.

The NBI has faced more complaints of cybercrime since the pandemic struck as the public relies on online banking transactions due to lockdowns during that period.

Dumlao said teachers have been victims of “phishing” and “vishing” scams intended to get a person’s information through phone calls or messages for the scammer to get access to their bank accounts.

“We will be coordinating with banks and other e-wallet providers. We will also be coordinating with the AMLC and seek their assistance in investigating this case,” Dumlao said.

The NBI started investigating the scam early this year, with teachers visiting its cybercrime division to complain about their compromised accounts in Land Bank of the Philippines.

The bank had promised to cooperate with the NBI, do internal investigation and maintained that its system is secure from hacking.

The NBI investigated the phishing attack on banking clients after the arrest of five suspects, including two Nigerians, for the unauthorized transfer of money from 700 BDO Unibank accounts to the fictitious “Mark Nagoyo” accounts in Union Bank of the Philippines.

The NBI said the suspects used some clients’ compromised accounts to generate one-time pins for the money transfers.