Philippines’ leading mobile wallet app GCash revealed that it has foiled a hacking attempt that could have cost it PHP37 million (US$740,000) and affected thousands of its users.
GCash led Twitter trends this week after users reported deductions from their accounts that were transferred to two recipient bank accounts.
The company said in a statement on Friday that it detected unauthorized access to its system on April 19 and immediately blocked it. It also suspended the accounts of 1,200 users who were involved in the hacking attempt.
GCash said that the hackers tried to exploit a bug in its system that allowed them to transfer funds from one GCash account to another without deducting the balance from the source account.
The company said that it was able to recover PHP37 million worth of funds that the hackers attempted to steal. It also assured its users that their personal data and money were safe and secure.
GCash said that it would return the seized funds to the affected users within seven days. It also apologized for any inconvenience caused by the incident and thanked its users for their patience and understanding.
GCash said that it was working closely with the authorities to investigate the hacking attempt and enhancing its security measures to avoid similar attempts in the future.
GCash is a mobile wallet app that allows users to send and receive money, pay bills, shop online, and more. It has over 40 million registered users and over 2 million merchants in the Philippines.
