On Bank Account Security

In view of recent scare about BPI's downtime in online access and clients' funds reportedly going missing, I felt the need to share this to you for your security.

But first, let me take note that despite the seemingly poor I.T. Maintenance of BPI, they're still my favorite bank. That being said, I want to warn people to be wary about emails asking for your personal information, pretending to be your banks.

Just recently, I've received 3 successive emails from a certain "BPI News", repeatedly asking me to log in and update my personal details. There's a link in the email that leads to what looks like the BPI Express Online website. However, upon checking its URL, it doesn't say bpiexpressonline.com. Here's a pic..

Here's the correct URL:

Notice that it is asking all of your personal information. There's even "Online Banking Security Tips" on the side to make it look legit. The email also says that if I didn't update my personal information, my online access would be suspended and there's also a link that leads to this message...

Skeptic that I am, I tried to log in on my BPI express online and I was able to log in. So, clearly, this email is a fraud. I then checked the sender's email address, which is what I should have done the first time but I didn't have a reason to doubt at first and the sender line only says BPI News. The email address was not shown. So what I did was I hit reply to see the address and here it is...

info@expressonline.bpi.com.ph. Looks legit at first glance, right? But since I already have my doubts, I cross-checked it with an official BPI email notice from my gmail account and then it hit me. Wait a minute... I get my BPI email notices from Gmail and this one was sent to my Yahoo email. Another red flag. True enough, it doesn't match the official email address of BPI Express Online. It should be expressonline@bpi.com.ph. See below...

What else is there to say?

Be wary of emails, even text messages, asking you to provide personal information. Better if you call your bank first to check if they did send that email (which I didn't, by the way, since I thought they would call me if I fail to update and they really need me to do so.) This is just one of the ways accounts get hacked and identities stolen. 

Be wary. Be safe. Better safe than sorry.