PNP, GCash raise awareness on online investment scams

Growing wealth through investment has recently been made easier and simpler with the emergence of online trading platforms. Unfortunately, this has also resulted in the rise of unscrupulous individuals exploiting online investors.

To safeguard Filipinos from falling into the hands of these fraudsters, the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG) and the Philippines' leading mobile wallet GCash share a few guidelines on how to know if an online investment offer is a scam.

“As a financially inclusive investment platform, GCash continues to give Filipinos access to online investment opportunities, but at the same time, we are also working hard to educate and give our users knowledge on how to avoid scams,” said AJ Sibal, GCash Fraud Management Head.

The most basic description of such a scam is a high return on investment in just a short span of time.

“Beware of these types of promises as they are too good to be true. For example, they will promise 50% profit in just two weeks. Worse, they seem to be in a hurry for you to send the seed investment money immediately,” warned PNP-ACG spokesperson P/Capt. Michelle Sabino.

Another red flag is when the offer is very secretive of their company information. As one of the key players in the investment landscape via in-app features such as GFunds and GStocks PH, GCash strongly advises investors to check the List of Public Companies by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) first to make sure investment offers are legitimate.

GCash reiterates its warning to users to never disclose their MPIN or OTP and to avoid clicking on unknown links from websites, emails, or messaging apps. For assistance, users can contact the PNP-ACG through their hotlines at (02) 8414-1560 or 0998-598-8116, or via email at acg@pnp.gov.ph. To report scams and fraudulent activities, users can also visit the official GCash Help Center at help.gcash.com or message Gigi on the website and type “I want to report a scam.” Customers can also reach out to the official GCash hotline at 2882 for inquiries and other concerns.

For more information, visit www.gcash.com.ph.