KUALA LUMPUR: Financial institutions are expected to fully implement Bank Negara Malaysia's five key measures to rein in financial scams by June next year, says the the Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM).
Datuk John Chong Eng Chuan, chair of the industry task force on measures to combat financial scams, said all banks were progressively implementing the measures.
Chong, who is also Malayan Banking Bhd group chief executive officer of community financial services, said more than 80 per cent of the bank had implemented the 24/7 dedicated complaint hotline for customers to report incidents or suspicions of fraud.
They had also implemented restricted authentication of electronic banking transactions to one mobile device or secure device per account holder.
"The other badges are all progressing well and we hope to complete them by next year," he said at the media roundtable discussion here, today.
ABM said it was committed to taking a holistic approach towards tackling the concerning trend of financial scams.
Measures would include amplifying education and awareness among the public under the National Scam Awareness Campaign to be more vigilant against financial scams and fraud.
CIMB Group Holdings Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Abdul Rahman Ahmad, who is chair of the industry communications task force, reminded the public that security was a collective responsibility that required a 'one nation approach'.
Abdul Rahman said the banking industry would continuously undertake efforts on a holistic basis to tackle financial scams through three thrusts, namely education, action and collaboration.
"These will focus on creating awareness among all stakeholders including the public, accelerating the implementation of the five key measures as announced by Bank Negara Malaysia," he said.
Abdul Rahmad said the banking industry would work closely with all stakeholders to strengthen the trust and confidence of online banking in Malaysia.
He also reminded customers to not share their banking credentials, avoid clicking on links sent via chat messages and emails from unknown sources and never use unsecured public WiFi connections to perform online banking transactions or electronic payments (e-payments).
"In addition, customers should only download apps from official/genuine app stores. Never download apps from links sent via chat message or email, and install and update anti-virus and anti-malware software on devices," he added.
The National Scam Awareness Campaign was launched in October 2022, with the tagline "Awas, Fikir, Blok. Ingat 3 Saat OK".
It is an industry wide campaign that aims to educate and empower the public to adopt good online hygiene practices and create awareness of the types of scams.
The collective effort will see consistent and frequent communications by the banks across various customer touchpoints to ensure the public remains vigilant of scam tactics and how to protect themselves.
