Our Citibank Credit Card was the first principal-supplementary card we got when my husband and I got married. We’ve been married for over 20 years so you can imagine just how long we’ve been using our Citibank Credit Card. All this time there has NEVER been a fraudulent charge. That is, until Citibank left the Philippines and Unionbank took over their business… including Citibank Credit Card.
Earlier this year, my husband’s Citibank Credit Card got several fraudulent charges from Coursehero. When it all added up, it was well over ₱20,000+. He called the hotline and reported it. The CS agent was quick to apologize and say that the charges would be reverted. Later on I saw on social media that a lot of other people got charged by Coursehero. Hubby’s card was blocked and he was issued a new one. Anyway, that happened earlier this year.
Last night, I received a text message from Citi (see photo above). I called the number and I was informed that my Citibank Credit Card was blocked because there had been 2 transactions worth ₱9,990 each from Apple. The CS agent told me that there was actually a third attempt for another ₱9,990 charge from Apple but they declined it already. I told her isn’t there an OTP? I said I can’t even pay a ₱500 peso bill via my credit card without being asked for an OTP. The CS agent told me that as per their system, these transactions somehow bypassed the OTP requirement. I told the agent these charges are definitely not mine. She said she would file a dispute on my behalf and all I needed to do was wait for my new card to be delivered.
Here’s the weird part. I BARELY USE this card these days. I only use it to pay our Meralco bill monthly via the Meralco app and that ALWAYS requires an OTP. When I shop online, I usually use Shopeepay, Lazada Wallet, Paypal, GCash, or Maya. It’s never my credit card unless I buy from Amazon. I recently bought a Klook package for the Eras Tour but I used a different card for it.
Ever since Unionbank took over Citibank’s remaining business in the Philippines, our credit cards have been hit by multiple fraudulent charges. Mind you, this has never happened during the 20+ years Citibank handled our cards. Bypass the OTP? Can this be an inside job? Because it’s not only me who has Apple charges worth ₱9,990. I have a friend who has the exact same charges. When my hubby got charged for Coursehero, several people we knew also had those charges. It’s like a mass fraud effort and Unionbank isn’t doing enough to put a stop to it. Someone told me that she has been issued 3 replacement cards this year already.
I’ve never experienced anything like this with American Express and I’ve had that card since I was single… since the late 90’s.
This is getting really tiring.
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Same experience, we had. We were charged for Apple services and accommodations overseas. 🙁