GCash, the mobile wallet of Globe Telecom, said Thursday it will roll out a new security feature to prevent unauthorized transactions brought about by phishing and other types of scams.
The introduction of “double authentication” feature ensures that only the account owner has the ability to link his GCash account to a specific device.
“This feature removes customers’ dependence on SMS OTPs which has been exploited by some fraudsters to scam users. It will provide a unique identifier that can’t be phished by scammers. It also provides an additional layer of security to the current SMS OTP,” said GCash chief customer officer Winsley Bangit.
“We never stop innovating to make sure our 71 million users have the safest and most convenient experience when they use the app,” he said.
GCash also introduced a new product under its GInsure platform, “Online Shopping Protect”.
It said that for P34 a month, users could get up to P20,000 in insurance coverage for incomplete deliveries, defective items, accidentally-damaged or stolen products.
The new offering, which will launch soon on GInsure, is powered by global insurance company, Chubb.
GCash said that aside from continuing to beef up its security measures, it also ramped up its partnership with authorities and regulators to help ensure the whole e-wallet ecosystem is safe for all.
GCash signed a memorandum of agreement with the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group during the #GSafeTayo media launch to strengthen collaboration in going after perpetrators involved in phishing, smishing, online fraud, e-scams, vishing, and other cybercrimes that take advantage of GCash users.
“I would like to express my confidence that through our stronger partnership with the PNP-ACG, we will be able to achieve more in the prevention, investigation, and prosecution of cybercrimes. GCash also assures the PNP-ACG that we will do whatever we can in order to successfully implement our agreement,” said GCash chief legal officer Maricor Alvarez-Adriano.
Through its intensified security campaign under #GSafeTayo, GCash has also been constantly reminding its users to never share their MPIN or OTP, as well as to never click links outside of the GCash app, especially from websites or senders which you have not verified to be legitimate.
GCash said it already removed all clickable links in its official SMS and emails to users to help them determine that when they receive messages with links, then these are scams.
The e-wallet also migrated transaction notification messages to the in-app inbox and masked the names of send money recipients to further protect the users’ funds and personal data.
Through its revitalized security campaign, GCash is aiming to mitigate scam incidents by employing a combination of user education, increased cooperation with law enforcement agencies and continuously upgrading its internal security platform.