SPEECHES & INTERVIEWS  Governor's Speech at the Launching of Financial Crime Exhibition Speaker: Tan Sri Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus / Venue: Kuala Lumpur / Language: English / Speech/Interview Date: 26 Sep 2022 /  Welcome to the launch of the Financial Crime Exhibition. First of all, I would like to express my appreciation and gratitude to the Inspector- General of the Police for joining us at the launch of this virtual exhibition. Scams and cybercrimes have been on the rise of late, not just in Malaysia but all around the world. This is a concerning development which Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) takes seriously. This is especially so where these cases concern financial scams. We have been and will continue to step up efforts to combat financial scams, and in doing so collaborate with other stakeholders. These include rolling out preventive measures, pursuing more effective and coordinated enforcement actions, and raising public awareness. BNM requires banks in Malaysia to adopt high standards of security, especially for Internet and mobile banking services. From time to time, BNM also issues security advisories to the financial industry highlighting the latest modus operandi (tactics) of scammers and additional security measures that banks need to implement to protect their customers' savings. The reality, however, is that methods used by criminals will continue to evolve. BNM therefore continuously intensifies efforts and take steps to combat scams by introducing additional controls and safeguards from time to time.

On this occasion, I would therefore like to announce the following measures which we have instructed financial institutions to take, to further strengthen safeguards against financial scams. First, financial institutions are required to migrate from SMS One Time Passwords (OTP) to more secure forms of authentication for online activities or transactions relating to account opening, fund transfers and payments, as well as changes to personal information and account settings. The major banks have already started this process of migrating to more secure forms of authentication; Second, financial institutions will further tighten fraud detection rules and triggers for blocking suspected scam transactions. Customers will be immediately alerted when any such activity involving their banking accounts is detected. As an additional measure, financial institutions will block such transactions, and customers will be asked to confirm that such transactions are genuine before they are unblocked; Third, a cooling-off period will be 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; Fourth, customers will be restricted to one mobile or secure device for the authentication of online banking transactions; and Fifth, financial institutions will be required to set up dedicated hotlines for customers to report financial scam incidents. Financial institutions have been directed to be more responsive to scam reports lodged by customers. Financial institutions have also been directed to facilitate efforts to recover and protect stolen funds, including to work with relevant agencies to prevent further losses.