GAPS FOUND IN RECENT INDUSTRY REVIEW
Mr Wong noted that a recent review of fraud control adequacy in the digital banking channels of the three local banks had “surfaced a number of gaps”.
The “focused supervisory review” was carried out by the MAS in the third quarter of 2021, in view of rising scam cases particularly in the last two years. In October, the financial regulator conveyed to each of the banks its specific findings and recommendations for remedial actions.
The three banks had committed to timelines to remedy these gaps, with most measures to be fully implemented by June this year, the minister said. Those that require extensive changes in IT systems were to be completed by December 2022 at the latest.
In agreeing to the timelines for implementation, MAS was “mindful that the banks had multiple priorities” such as ensuring business continuity and robust risk management amid the COVID-19 pandemic, said Mr Wong.
But when faced with the escalation in phishing scams in December, OCBC “fast-tracked” the roll-out of some of these measures.
For example, it extended the cooling period – where higher-risk transactions cannot be carried out – after a digital token is set up on a new mobile device.
Mr Wong noted that the latest scam involving OCBC marks a “step up in the persistence and deceptiveness” of phishing scams involving banks. Scammers had used “a combination of well-orchestrated tactics to achieve a level of realism not seen in…
