PETALING JAYA: There has to be shared responsibility between banks, telecommunication companies (telcos) and consumers when financial scams happen, and the relevant authorities must investigate to identify which party is liable, says the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca).
Its vice-president and legal adviser Datuk Indrani Thuraisingham said all three parties must play their roles effectively to prevent scams.
“The era of using the ‘soft approach’ against commercial banks in scam cases is over.
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“When money goes out of bank accounts, the banks are supposed to send alerts. As it is, they are charging us for every small transaction or service.
“However, we have scam victims who come to us complaining that banks are not acting fast enough when they complain that they have been scammed.
“Currently, there are many guidelines from Bank Negara Malaysia for commercial banks on the issue of scams.
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“What we need are regulations as guidelines are only voluntary. When a scam happens, the bank should be the first stop, then the telcos and then only the consumers,” she said.
Indrani called on the government to emulate Singapore, where there are strict laws and regulations for banks and telcos in the island republic’s efforts to stop financial scams.
“In Singapore, there is a shared responsibility framework. Our banks and telcos here too should be held responsible,” she added.
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She questioned how scammers seem to get hold of contact numbers as well as information of account holders, which she said points to the lax attitude of banks and telcos in keeping such data secure.
Indrani said that as proposed in Singapore, Malaysian laws should also enable the police to interfere with the accounts of scam victims, but only with the consent of the victim.
“This is necessary in cases of continuous scamming, such as love scams. The police must have clear evidence before interfering.
“We now see victims being ‘re-scammed’ as they claim that the caller or advertisement seemed very genuine.
“If Bank Negara continues using the soft approach, investors too would get spooked as we have seen even companies getting scammed. There must be more regulations on commercial banks to ensure that they have zero negligence,” said Indrani.
