Netizen claims P102K debited from BDO account

A netizen on Tuesday claimed a total of P102,000 in unauthorized transactions were recorded over the weekend involving her husband's account with BDO Unibank Inc.

Dawn Mawis, 44, an event organizer, told GMA News Online her husband's debit card was compromised over the weekend, during which several transactions were recorded even though they were not using the card.

When Mawis checked the account online, she said the account balance was decreasing almost every 30 minutes. 

That discovery prompted Dawn and her husband, Roman Mawis, to get in touch with the BDO branch at Resorts World Manila, and request for a printout of the transaction records.

"Normally, 'pag long weekend kasi, 'yung purchases ng weekend, mag-re-reflect pa lang siya ng next banking day. I noticed it lang kasi I have an online access sa account ... I think sobrang bilis nung makita ko 'yung ... pag-decrease nung money. So every like 30 minutes ... iba-iba 'yung lumalabas na balance, pababa siya ng pababa," Dawn said.

"I think, nung chinecheck ko siya, kasi nung unang na-notice ko 'yun, parang isa pa lang 'yung nakita ko sa online na nabawas. Pero 'yung balance ko kasi real time 'yun na mababawas, pero 'yung transaction record mo hindi pa pumapasok doon sa record mo online," she said.

"Pero nakikita mo na agad 'yung balance mo na nag-de-decrease ng nag-de-decrease until I alerted my husband. And yesterday we went to our bank, 'yung sa branch, and humingi siya ng copy ng printout," Dawn added.

Dawn said they were clueless on how the transactions happened as they were in possession of the debit card.

"I don't know how they possibly did it. Pero kasi the card is with me, I know that it's with me, so papaano yun na-transact ... ng wala siyang pinapakitang card. I think very impossible," she said.

She claimed they were a victim of a new modus operandi as the transactions were reflected on the same day.

The Mawises asked BDO to block the debit card.

"I think it's really a new modus operandi, 'cause alam nila na pag namonitor ng cardholder 'yung movement nung account, ika-cut agad nila 'yung card. So kailangan nilang bilisan yung paggamit ng card habang hindi pa namomonitor nung cardholder," Dawn said.

"Kaya ganon kabilis, at one day lang talaga nila ginawa. At during the time na merong long holiday. So kung hindi ka naka-online at hindi mo 'yun ma-no-notice at passbook based ka lang, eh baka marami siyang araw na pwedeng magawa 'yon kasi you don't know as the cardholder what's happening kung weekend," she added.

Dawn said they have no choice but to wait for the results of the investigation of BDO regarding the matter.

"Yung binigay nilang printout, pinapacheck nila doon alin 'yung mga purchases na unauthorized, tapos isa-submit ulit 'yun sa branch. Then, I think they will coordinate with their investigating body or department ng BDO, and we have to wait for the results," she said.

"The thing is it's not a credit card. While we are disputing the transactions, we cannot say which were the disputable transactions ... This is a debit card, so whatever was transacted, automatically, it was debited from our money in the bank," Dawn noted.

"Kaya kung paghihintayin nila kami doon ng napakatagal sobrang laking hassle non sa amin, because we need the money especially in our account the amount was almost P102,000 plus. So that's a lot of money," she went on.

BDO said earlier Tuesday it was looking into new reports of supposedly unauthorized transactions involving several accounts.

"We're investigating the matter now. We'll revert back to you once findings have been made," the bank's Corporate Communications Department said in a text message. — VDS/KVD, GMA News