UNIONBANK of the Philippines, Inc. on Wednesday said they “immediately acted accordingly” to attend to the hacking incident involving a P1-million purchase using Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian’s credit card.

The lender also urged consumers to be more vigilant as scammers become more aggressive when holidays occur, saying Valentine’s Day will likely be the next attack season.

“We respect the senator’s privacy and we hold in trust the transaction that we can make between him and the bank. But this is what I can say — as soon as the bank was notified of the issue, we immediately acted accordingly, meaning, addressing the issue,” UnionBank Senior Executive Vice-President and Chief Technology and Operations Officer Henry Rhoel R. Aguda said in an online briefing on Wednesday.

“We have all the details and we have coordinated with the authorities. We won’t stop until they’re (hackers) held accountable,” Mr. Aguda said.

Mr. Gatchalian said on Twitter on Jan. 6 that his credit card had been hacked and was used to buy a total of P1.1 million worth of items in four separate transactions in Foodpanda.

The senator has called on lawmakers to look into credit card fraud and other cyber scams affecting consumers, saying he had received many messages saying the same scheme happened to them.

UnionBank said it have been ramping up efforts to educate consumers on how not to fall for scams.

“They (scammers) prey on people’s emotions and vulnerabilities,” Mr. Aguda said, citing how one scam last month had been disguised as a gift from the lender. He said customers who do not check URLs may fall for similar fraud schemes.

“Scammers are becoming more and more sophisticated. After Christmas, the next attack will be on Valentine’s day,” Mr. Aguda added. — L.W.T. Noble

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