THE Consumers Association of Penang supports victims who lost money to online scammers in taking action on banks that responded late or even dismissed their alerts to cancel the digital transactions.
Its president Mohideen Abdul Kader said such banks can be sued for negligence but the onus is on the account holder to provide necessary proof.
This is in light of the security of the victim’s device being compromised without them realising it.
Mohideen said generally, there needs to be a comprehensive effort to reduce the losses incurred by unsuspecting consumers, especially over online transactions.
Measures to halt transactions
A retired schoolteacher, who declined to be named, said he was a victim of an online scam. He managed to track it fast and called his merchant bank to void the transaction, but this was not done promptly.
After two years, he has managed to secure a mediation session with the party concerned with the hope that both sides can find a solution to this matter.
“I hope by sharing my experience, the authorities including banks, can devise prompt measures to halt transactions. Perhaps a better kill-switch technique to cancel suspicious electronic transactions within minutes and not hours,” the teacher said in an interview.
He also called for a community initiative to generate awareness among the vulnerable, like senior citizens, to understand the intricacies of online scamming and mail fraud.
Mohideen pointed to the Global Anti-Scam Alliance’s finding that some RM258.6 billion was lost to scams worldwide last year.
Citing the data, he said among nations that suffered significant losses last year were Britain (RM7 billion), United States (RM48.2 billion), Australia (RM9.3 billion), Singapore (RM2.62 billion) and Vietnam (RM4.21 billion).
A total of 8,868 cases of scams involving online purchases or e-commerce fraud resulting in a loss of RM163 million were recorded in Malaysia this year up till September, Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department director Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf reportedly said.
He had said white collar scam has now surpassed other forms of crime.
Ensure full encryptions
“Scams are continuing globally despite banks and programmers introducing safety features including kill switch for an account holder to instantly freeze his account, and the detection of malware programmes by antivirus programmes,” said Mohideen.
He added that there’s a need to improve cybersecurity system to prevent scamming, such as by ensuring that passwords and OTP codes are fully encrypted.
“It is very difficult to eradicate scamming except to understand how it is executed,” he said.
Malaysians have fallen victim to online love scams, virtual kidnapping ransom scams (where a loved one is apparently kidnapped), and tax or legal evasion scam calls.
Mohideen said a cellphone needs to be discarded one its security is compromised by malware (malicious software), and there is a need for cyber security operators to up their game in meeting the hacking technics employed by scammers.
He also wants banks to crack down on mule accounts. – The Vibes, November 26, 2023
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