PDIC warns vs criminals misrepresenting insurer
recently upgraded its mediation service by mandating proceedings to be conducted entirely online while reviving the. (PDIC) warned the public not to fall for new financial scams concocted by con artists misrepresenting the state-run agency.
The depositor-insurer said in a statement issued last Wednesday it discovered three fraudulent schemes by individuals claiming to be from PDIC.
“Financial scams targeting hapless savers proliferated during the pandemic; even the deposit insurance system was not spared by ruthless scammers who were determined to con individuals out of their hard-earned money,” it said.
Under these scams, the PDIC said certain individuals pose as employees to dupe victims to believe they can “help” recover investments lost in the stock market for a fee, or tricks them into paying a sum of money in order to receive funds remitted from another country through the issuance of surety bonds for tax payments.
In another scam, the PDIC said a fake document purportedly issued by a bank with forged signatures of officials claims that international bank transactions require PDIC insurance for a fee.
“The PDIC advised the public to ignore calls, messages or emails from individuals with ‘too good to be true’ promises or information regarding return of investments, deposit insurance, money transfers or any financial-related transactions,” it said.
Moreover, the PDIC also reminded the public not to give their personal and sensitive financial information to any person who claims to be an employee of a financial institution or government agency without verifying their documents and credibility.
“Scammers often pretend to be contacting individuals on behalf of a financial institution or government agency,” it said. “The best way to check their legitimacy is to directly contact the institution they say they are representing.”
As a state deposit insurer, PDIC said their mandate is to protect depositors by way of providing deposit insurance up to the maximum deposit insurance coverage of P500,000 per depositor.
It clarified it is neither involved in investments nor any means to recover loss from any investment. The PDIC emphasized it doesn’t provide insurance for international fund transfers. It is also not a surety bond firm that insures the issuance of surety bonds for tax payments.
Thus, the PDIC warned “it shall not be liable for any financial implications resulting from any related act, promise, pledge or guarantee made in PDIC’s name by unauthorized individuals.”
It also urged the public to report the scams to PDIC Public Assistance Department through the hotline number (02) 8841-4141 or toll-free number 1-800-1-888-7342 (for those outside Metro Manila) during office hours, or through e-mail at [email protected]. The PDIC said it also could be reached in its official Facebook account.