A day after The Star’s page one story on the
increasing number of online financial crimes, Bank Negara announces it
is joining forces with the police to stem the rising tide. The central
bank is instituting tighter security controls while the cops are
intensifying efforts to make the public more aware of cybercrimes.
https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2022/09/27/putting-the-brakes-on-cybercrime?dmplayersource=share-link
KUALA
LUMPUR: Cybercriminals are very good at quickly adopting and exploiting
new technological changes to stay ahead of law enforcement while they
scam millions from the public.
This is why the number of online financial crimes is rising around the
world and in Malaysia, according to Inspector-general of Police Tan Sri
Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani.
Such crimes can have terrible consequences, he pointed out in his speech
before he and Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus
launched a virtual Financial Crime exhibition yesterday.
“Financial crimes can devastate the victim and lead to more mule
accounts being created for the purpose of scams. It can also have a
negative impact on the nation’s economy in the long term,” said Acryl
Sani.
Loan scammers and Ah Long (loan sharks) use social media sites and chat
applications to advertise their loan offers with fast approvals.
“The syndicates will deal with the victims online and demand various documents and fees before duping them,” he explained.
Bukit Aman expects the syndicates will still employ similar tactics, but
they will focus on a younger victim pool – students and youths – to
pull off illegal money lending and mule account scams now.
“We are cooperating with banking institutions to ensure investigations,
especially those involving mule accounts, can be completed faster,”
Acryl Sani said.
Fraud in online purchases, loan and investment scams, the Macau and
African scam
In 2019, there were 13,703 cases recorded with Rm539mil in losses;
followed by 17,227 cases in 2020 and Rm511.2mil in losses; and 20,701
cases last year with Rm560.8mil lost. As at July this year, 12,092 cases
had been recorded, resulting in Rm414.8mil in losses, he said.
Bukit Aman has rounded up 33,147 suspects between 2019 and July this year, while 22,196 cases have been prosecuted.
While there is some awareness among members of the public of such crimes
nowadays, it is still not strong enough to prevent increasing numbers.
The Royal Malaysia Police has various programmes and campaigns to raise
awareness about cybercrimes among the public, such as the “Let’s Fight
Scammers Together” campaign.
“We will step up such activities this year,” Acryl Sani added.
The IGP advised the public to safeguard their personal information and
avoid downloading files or applications from unverified sources onto
mobile devices.
Account holders who encounter suspicious transactions involving their
bank accounts should immediately notify their banks, contact the CCID
infoline via Whatsapp at 013211 1222, or the CCID Scam Response Centre
at 03-2610 1559/1599 or BNMTELELINK at 1-300-88-5465.
“They should also lodge a police report to facilitate the investigation,” said Acryl Sani.
The virtual Financial Crime exhibition by Bank Negara Malaysia Museum
and Art Gallery, which can be accessed at bit.ly/bnm_ crime, lays out
various types of financial crimes and how they have evolved over time.
It features interactive exhibits that allow the public to simulate
financial scam scenarios. Through the various exhibits, the public will
be able to learn strategies – such as Spot, Stop and Share, aka 3S – to
protect themselves and others from becoming victims.
Banks to further tighten security control to stay one step ahead of scammers
KUALA LUMPUR: If you notice your online banking transactions taking a
little longer in the future, don’t complain. It’s a sign that your bank
is trying to protect you from cybercriminals.
Concerned by the rising number of scams and online financial crimes
globally and in Malaysia, Bank Negara is directing the banking industry
to undertake tighter security controls, its governor Tan Sri Nor
Shamsiah Mohd Yunus said.
ALSO READ:
Public must be more aware of how scams work
The level of concern is great enough to bring about a rare high-level
meeting between Nor Shamsiah and Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri
Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani yesterday, when they also launched a virtual
Financial Crime Exhibition.
“Bank Negara requires banks in Malaysia to adopt high standards of
security, especially for Internet and mobile banking services,” Nor
Shamsiah said in her speech at the event.
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Watch out! There are many ways in which we get duped
This will include measures such as migration of SMS one-time-passwords
(OTPs) to a more secure form of authentication; further tightening of
detection rules and triggers for blocking scam-related transactions; and
subjecting first-time enrolment of online banking services and secure
devices to a cooling-off period.
Customers will also be restricted to one mobile device or secure device
for authenticating online banking transactions, and banks will also be
required to set up dedicated scam hotlines.
ALSO READ:
Consumers must become more aware of scams
While the control measures may entail some inconvenience, they are important to protect customers.
“These controls may lead to some friction or inconvenience in the online banking experience of customers.
“For example, online banking transactions might take a little longer to
process. Financial institutions will also conduct more checks when
customers request to change or register a new phone number,” Nor
Shamsiah said.
Fighting
crime: Bank Negara Governor Tan Sri Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus and
Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani at the
virtual launch of Bank Negara Malaysia Museum and Art Gallery’s
‘Financial Crime: Scan Before You’re Scammed’. — Bank Negara
However, she said, when implementing these measures, Bank Negara and the
financial industry will continue to carefully balance between security
considerations and customer convenience.
She also said that financial institutions have been directed to be more
responsive to scam reports lodged by customers and to facilitate efforts
to recover and protect stolen funds, including working with relevant
agencies to prevent further losses.
“Bank
Negara will also continue to monitor and take appropriate action with
financial institutions to ensure that the highest levels of controls and
security standards are observed.
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“We will also continue to take effective preventive measures against ever-evolving financial scams.”
Together with the financial industry, Bank Negara will continue to
ensure that banking and payment channels remain secure and equipped with
the latest security controls, she said.
Acknowledging that criminal tactics change all the time, she said
that Bank Negara continuously intensifies deterrent efforts and
introduces additional controls as well as safeguards and collaborates
with other stakeholders to keep ahead of scammers.
These include rolling out preventive measures, pursuing more effective
and coordinated enforcement actions, and raising public awareness.
“The effort to eradicate financial scams requires cooperation and
concerted action from all parties – not just from Bank Negara and the
financial industry, but also from law enforcement agencies and relevant
ministries and agencies, as well as the public,” she added.
Bank Negara, together with the police, Malaysian Communications and
Multimedia Commission and National Anti-Financial Crime Centre, will
work together to further elevate the Commercial Crime Investigation
Department’s Scam Response Centre into a more systematic
information-sharing platform that will enable quicker action to prevent
further losses.
Nor Shamsiah said the cooperation of law enforcement agencies is key, especially in sharing information and intelligence.
The public also has a role to play in protecting themselves by making sure to be aware of scams.
“An important aspect of dealing with financial scams is raising public
awareness about tactics used by criminals and the steps that the public
can take to avoid becoming victims.
“In this regard, Bank Negara, the financial industry and law enforcement
agencies will continue efforts to enhance the effectiveness of
awareness programmes and improve on the dissemination of information to
the public,” she said.
The virtual Financial Crime Exhibition launched yesterday is an example
of such efforts as it seeks to educate the public about financial scams.
It can be viewed at bit.ly/bnm_crime.
By FARIK ZOLKEPLI and RAGANANTHINI VETHASALAM
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