SINGAPORE – Phishing scams, including those targeting bank customers, have risen rapidly in frequency and sophistication in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, pushing the authorities in Britain to take stronger action to combat fraudsters.
New legislation could soon make it mandatory for banks in Britain to reimburse victims who have lost funds after being tricked into revealing their account details through fake websites and spoofed SMS messages, among other tactics, despite having exercised sufficient caution.
Other proposed rules would make it mandatory for major British banks to publish data on their performance in relation to these so-called authorised push payment (APP) scams, the levels of reimbursement given to victims, and information on which banks are being used to receive stolen funds.
Britain’s Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), an independent watchdog, concluded a public consultation on the proposed measures last week. It is expected to publish a policy statement later this year.
APP scams involve fraudsters who pose as authority figures such as bank employees, the police or government officials.
They target victims through unsolicited SMS messages, phone calls or e-mails and trick or pressure them into revealing key information such as their Internet banking usernames, PINs and one-time passwords.
Once they obtain the information, the scammers can access the victims’ accounts and drain them of funds within minutes.
Most major British banks have already…
