BPI reiterates: Banks will never call customers to ask for personal information

By TechWatch PH Staff

The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) has once again reminded the public that banks will never call customers to ask for personal or account details, following a recent report showing that scam calls in the Philippines surged by 78 percent in the third quarter of 2025.

BPI Chief Technology Officer Alex Seminiano urged customers to remain alert against fraudulent calls, stressing that legitimate communications from the bank are always made through official channels and only upon customer request.

“We will never call you just to be able to tell you something about. If there’s no official ticket or request, there’s no callback,” Seminiano said in the sideline of Cybersecurity Media Roundtable hosted by BPI with the theme “ Securing the Future with AI and Next Generation of Cybersecurity:.

He advised the public to immediately hang up and contact BPI through its official hotlines or their branch of account if they receive suspicious calls.

“Please verify. Don’t share your information right away. Terminate the call and contact the bank directly—that’s the safest way to confirm,” he added.

Seminiano also highlighted that some scam attempts are made through third-party telecommunications channels, where fraudsters send messages or make calls impersonating the bank. “That is where third parties will pretend as if you receive a message from the bank,” he explained.

To address this, BPI is working closely with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), the National Telecommunication Commission (NTC), and local telecommunication companies to strengthen coordination and mitigate risks.

“As an industry, we are trying to see if we can already accelerate the decommissioning of 2G and 3G networks because they are far less secure,” Seminiano said.

According to Gogolook Philippines, through its global anti-scam application Whoscall, the country recorded a sharp rise in scam activity during Q3 2025. The app identified 62,390 scam calls, marking a 78.44 percent jump from the 34,964 recorded in Q2.

Seminiano warned that scammers have become increasingly sophisticated, often disguising themselves as legitimate bank representatives.

“They understand how systems work and look for vulnerabilities to appear convincing,” he noted.

BPI continues to strengthen its customer education and cybersecurity programs to combat fraud and keep clients informed about safe banking practices.