Filipinos warned vs fake websites posing as PhilHealth portals

The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) over the weekend cautioned its members to be on the lookout for fake, unauthorized websites that claim to be official portals of the state health insurer for registration and member services.

In a statement, PhilHealth president and chief executive officer Edwin Mercado said several websites are posing as legitimate PhilHealth websites to dupe Filipinos.

“It has come to our attention that several suspicious websites are mimicking the official PhilHealth interface to deceive users into providing sensitive information. We urge everyone to remain vigilant and follow these guidelines to identify legitimate platform,” Mercado said.

The state health insurer advised the public to look out for the following red flags when accessing PhilHealth online services:

• Incorrect URL/web address: The only official website of PhilHealth is www.philhealth.gov.ph. Be wary of sites that end in .com, .net, or other extensions. Official Philippine government websites typically end in .gov.ph.
• Unauthorized logos: Scammers often use low-quality or outdated versions of the PhilHealth logo. Always compare the branding with official PhilHealth offices and verified social media pages.
• Requests for suspicious information: PhilHealth will never ask for direct payments or bank transfers, donations, and sensitive personal login credentials outside of the PhilHealth Member Portal through unofficial websites.

“We take the security of our members’ information seriously, and we encourage the public to only use our official website for any transactions and to report any suspicious links or pages immediately,” Mercado said.

PhilHealth urged Filipinos not to click such suspicious-looking links and report the URL immediately to the state health insurer’s official channels on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PhilHealthOfficial, through email at actioncenter@philhealth.gov.ph, or its website at www.philhealth.gov.ph.

Fraudulent websites may be also reported through the Philhealth regional offices, its Corporate Action Center at (02) 8662-2588, or mobile hotlines at 0998-8572957 / 0968-8654670 (Smart) and 0917-1275987 / 0917-1109812 (Globe). — JMA, GMA Integrated News