GCash Anonymizes Usernames To Combat Spam Messages
To manage concerns on data privacy, mobile wallet giant GCash added a new feature on its app – anonymizing the usernames of their customers.
Editing by Nath Cajuday
Mobile e-wallet provider GCash has started to roll out a new feature that anonymizes account usernames when making transactions in a bid to further address the concerns on data privacy and spam text messages.
To add a layer of customer protection, the fintech firm announced the update last Thursday, September 8, 2022, which censors the full names of users in its send money service. Prior to the update, the complete names were shown, which served, at that time, as a help in verifying the proper recipient.
“In the past, the name of the person is seen as an added measure of convenience and helps verify that the recipient is correct. We need to strike a balance between customer experience and strengthening measures to keep user information safe from unscrupulous individuals,” Gcash stated.
Gcash, which currently has 66 million registered users, noted that the initiative means to “assure our customers that our systems and infrastructure remain secure and there is no incidence of any data leak or breach.”
Accordingly, the firm disclosed that it has already blocked 1.37 million fraudulent accounts for the first half of the year, most of which were blocked by its security systems.
It also revealed that it detected and took down some sites that impersonate Gcash, including 900 phishing sites and 400,000 social media accounts.
In a statement, GCash has recently stated that it supports the proposed legislation that will criminalize the loan and sale of mobile wallet accounts. According to them, this will extend its security measures to prevent scams and frauds. (Read more: GCash Supports Gov’t move to Penalize ‘loan and sale’ of e-Wallet Accounts)
Meanwhile, GCash also announced that it would no longer send text messages for each transaction on the platform starting this month in order to decrease operational costs for the mobile wallet. (Read more: Gcash to Remove Text Alerts for Each Transaction)
This article is published on BitPinas: GCash Starts New Anonymity Feature
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