Central Bank of the Philippines issues scam alert on fake BSP documents and upfront fee demands

The Central Bank of the Philippines (BSP) issued a public warning about fraudulent schemes offering financial products and services that misuse the BSP’s name or the names of its officials. The scams typically rely on falsified documents bearing the BSP name and logo or an official’s signature, and are used to solicit personal information or advance payments under urgent pretexts. The alert cites examples of forged materials such as “assurance letters,” “Confirmation of Beneficiary Bank,” “Terms of Loan Contract,” and purported OTP PIN code renewal requests, as well as fake certifications linked to loans, deposits, withdrawals, fund transfers, credit cards, money changing, investments, or insurance. The BSP also flagged common indicators including offers of low-interest loans allegedly “approved” or “guaranteed” by the BSP, urgent requests for payments to release funds or “complete the process,” and documents showing poor grammar or incorrect agency names or logos. It reiterated that it does not authorize or endorse any individual or firm to collect fees for purported anti-money laundering clearance, taxes, insurance, or other fabricated charges, and that legitimate regulators, law enforcement agencies, and financial institutions do not request sensitive information through unsolicited communications. The BSP advised recipients to ignore and not engage with suspected scammers, avoid sharing personal or financial details, and report incidents through official BSP and law enforcement channels. Where an account may have been compromised, affected individuals should immediately contact their bank or e-money issuer via official channels.