BIZ BUZZ: Giving BSP a bad name
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has long been considered one of the most respected institutions in the Philippines.
Unfortunately, that same sterling reputation is being used for fraud by criminals, who are only too happy to use the BSP’s name in vain.
Thus, the warning from the BSP for the public to refrain from dealing with individuals or entities that falsely claim to be affiliated with or supervised by the BSP.
“The BSP reminds the public that its personnel will not extend loans, solicit money, nor ask any information that may compromise financial accounts of financial consumers. Further, the BSP does not offer or hold deposit accounts for individual persons, neither does it participate in any transaction between private individuals,” the BSP said.
This was the second advisory that the BSP issued in as many days this week, with the first one warning the public against fraudulent documents that are made to appear issued by the BSP or its officials.
“Fraudulent documents may display the BSP logo and contain forged signatures in an attempt to mislead recipients and unlawfully obtain financial gain or personal information,” the BSP said.
The BSP thus advised the public to remain vigilant and verify the authenticity of any communication or document pertaining to financial transactions.
Bottom line, always have a healthy dose of skepticism whenever you are confronted with anything that bears the BSP’s name, its marks and also the names of its officials.
If it looks too good to be true, then it almost always is.
