As the country starts implementing the SIM Registration Law, mobile wallet firm GCash on Tuesday warned against scams that may take advantage of the mass enrollment.
GCash has been receiving reports that some telco subscribers are getting messages that their accounts have been restricted if they don’t pre-register their SIM cards, it said.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian earlier warned of the scam a day before the official start of mass SIM card registration.
“We would like to reiterate our warnings to our users that GCash will never send links via SMS, email, and messaging apps,” said Winsley Bangit, chief customer officer of GCash.
The Ayala-led fintech firm assured customers that their funds and account will remain safe as they go through the registration of their SIM cards as mandated by law,
“But to ensure undisrupted access to GCash accounts, the e-wallet is encouraging its customers to promptly register their SIM Card with their respective telco provider,” the company added.
Gatchalian earlier warned the public against a scam using virtual wallets such as GCash ahead of the rollout of the SIM Registration Law.
The senator mentioned a fraudulent email made to appear as coming from GCash Promotions advising end-users that their transactions have been restricted.
To reinstate the feature, Gatchalian said consumers have to pre-register by clicking a link, which can compromise the data of the end-users.
“We fought for the passage of the SIM Registration Act in the past years because we want to protect the users of SIM against cyber criminals. We need to advise our countrymen to exercise caution against these schemes,” the senator, who co-authored the SIM Registration Law, said.
“Identity theft is precisely one of the online schemes that we want to prevent relative to the enactment of the SIM registration law. The process for disclosing personal information is rigid and necessitates a court order,” he added.
In a recent Facebook post, GCash warned its users against messages that falsely represent the platform, and urged the public to report these incidents to its help center.
Moreover, Gatchalian urged the public to register their SIM immediately, as this would enable authorities to track cyber criminals who take advantage of customers.
He added that SIM users also need to ensure they register only through a secure platform or website provided by their respective service providers.