MANILA, Philippines – The Social Security System (SSS) is warning the public to be careful in accepting SSS checks after receiving a report of a fake check being encashed in La Union.
SSS management said it recently received a report from SSS La Union Branch officer-in-charge Francisco Pentecostes that a bogus SSS check amounting to P9.000 was encashed at a grocery store.
“The fake SSS check was allegedly issued by Land Bank of the Philippines Baguio City Branch but the account from which it will be drawn is from Land Bank of the Philippines Tarlac Branch. The SSS check also indicated two different account numbers and the signatures are not by authorized signatories of the agency," the SSS said.
The SSS La Union Branch has informed establishments in the area of the modus, telling owners of the features of the fraudulent check.
They advised the owners to call the SSS branch to verify the genuineness of the SSS checks before accepting them.
"We want to remind everyone to be more prudent in accepting SSS checks being encashed to them. The fake SSS check that was encashed may look authentic for someone who is not familiar with the SSS check. But if placed side by side with the real SSS check, one can see a lot of inconsistencies," said SSS.
Authentic SSS checks have only one account number, which is located above the check date and at the bottom part of the check.
The SSS number of the member-payee is also printed on the check. This information is not found on the fake check.
SSS also said that its president is the only signatory for all benefit checks issued by the SSS.
"We assure our members that SSS checks are secured and cannot be easily copied. However, we still urge the public to be more vigilant especially with the holiday season fast approaching for possible fraudulent transactions and to report such incidents to the SSS Branch so that we can take the necessary actions," said SSS.