KUALA LUMPUR: The idea of adopting a 48-hour “cooling period” when money above a threshold is transferred to new bank accounts might give scam victims enough time to pull their money back from the brink before it reaches the greasy hands of scammers.
Cybersecurity law expert and lawyer Derek John Fernandez said that is one of the ways authorities and financial institutions can stop a financial scam.
He said that as victims usually realise they are scammed after 24 hours, there is another 24-hour window for banks to stop the transaction.
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Fernandez said this is among the immediate measures he has proposed in a 75-page paper to the government on what the authorities can do to protect consumers from financial scams.
“The good-funds model, which has a cooling-off period for first-time transactions between individual accounts, is practised in some countries such as Australia to ensure that there is no fraudulent activity before funds are transferred for the first time.
“Such a period will enable a person to inform the bank of a scam transaction to a mule account and stop the payment,” said Fernandez.
“At the moment, in Malaysia, a cooling-off period is only observed for the first-time enrolment of online banking services or secure devices. During this time, no online banking activity is allowed to be conducted,” he added.
Fernandez pointed out that the average consumer is ill-equipped to combat cybersecurity threats and cybercrime by themselves.
He said the country had embraced digitalisation without proper consideration of cybersecurity.
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“The true cost of digitalisation has been totally understated because the cost of cybersecurity had not been factored in properly. We have emboldened criminals and given them great opportunities to commit crimes in the safety of being outside our country.
“Now cybercrime is the third biggest criminal activity in the world and is growing,” said Fernandez.
“Those who profit the most from digitalisation should be made to bear the true cost of cybersecurity and the losses that occur due to weaknesses in the technology they used to create those profits.
“The government itself is unable to pay totally for the cost of cybersecurity and those companies who have profited the most from digitalisation must bear a proportionate and fair cost of cybersecurity. They must be made to protect their customers with sufficient resources,” said Fernandez.
A concerted effort by law enforcement agencies, financial institutions and telco service providers to coordinate a rapid response for online financial scams is also the key to enabling vulnerable victims of scammers to at least get some of their money back, said National Anti-Financial Crime Centre (NFCC) director-general Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali.
He said that while educating the public on scam awareness is an important step in mitigating the risk of scams, there are several other robust measures that can be put in place to help prevent scams from occurring.
Mustafar listed the factors as improved legislation, enhanced consumer protection, increased enforcement, stronger cybersecurity and better collaboration between government agencies, businesses and consumers that can help identify new types of scams and develop more effective strategies for preventing them.
“Governments can put in place laws and regulations that make it easier to prosecute scammers and discourage fraudulent activities,” he said.
Mustafar, who also heads the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC), which was set up late last year, added that a proposal is in the pipeline to amend the laws and regulatory mechanisms relating to scam victim restitution, mule accounts and the power of the investigating officer.
“Law enforcement agencies can work more closely with financial institutions and businesses to track down and prosecute scammers,” said Mustafar.
He sees NSRC as the command centre – focusing on online financial scams – to coordinate efforts among law enforcement agencies (NFCC, police, Bank Negara and the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission) together with financial institutions and telco service providers to coordinate rapid response for online financial scams.
“However, there is still much work to be done to combat scams and fraud, shift public attitudes towards greater awareness and caution, improve the efficiency and transparency of the financial system, and take effective enforcement actions against criminals,” said Mustafar.
