A network of digital advocates is calling for an investigation into the safety of GCash, a popular e-money service, after users reported losing huge amounts stored in their digital wallets.

According to Digital Pinoys national campaigner Ronald Gustilo, their group has received complaints from several users who found their wallets emptied after several unauthorized transactions, with reports that their Gloan and Gcredit services were used as well. The “heist” has become a trending topic on various social media platforms.

“The number of complainants and the amount that was transferred and loaned is alarming. The government should act swiftly and look into this matter immediately as we fear that many more may be victimized,” Gustilo said.

Victims have noticed that most of their wallet contents were transferred to Eastwest Bank and Asia United Bank accounts. Gustilo is urging the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the management of both banks to investigate the accounts involved in the massive digital wallet heist.

“BSP, Eastwest Bank, and AUB should look into these accounts involved in this massive digital wallet heist and take appropriate actions as soon as possible to delay, if not halt, the operation of the scammers,” Gustilo added.

Gustilo emphasized that this “massive heist” should serve as a wakeup call for GCash to improve the security and verification features of their app.

“We call on Gcash once again. Wake up and do something about your system. Your security features are clearly not enough to protect your clients. This is not the first time that this has happened,” Gustilo said.

Gustilo also urged GCash to reimburse the victims of the “GCash heist” and implement a loan amnesty program for subscribers victimized by unauthorized transactions.

“GCash should forgo the charges incurred by account holders if it will be proven that the transaction is unauthorized. They should also reimburse the hard-earned money of the subscribers that was lost because of the heist. It is GCash’s duty and responsibility to their clients to keep the money stored in their app safe,” Gustilo added.