KL blames criminals for ATM card thefts<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysia's central bank on Saturday
\ncharged that criminal syndicates were behind a rash of automatic
\nteller machine (ATM) thefts with \"cloned\" cards which has sparked
\nfears of a run on the country's banks.<\/p>\n
Bank Negara Malaysia chief Ali Abul Hassan Sulaiman said in a
\nstatement that its probe of the ATM card incidents revealed
\ncriminal syndicates were behind the thefts.<\/p>\n
\"Virtually all the unauthorized ATM withdrawals were due to
\nthe cloning by syndicates of the ATM cards issued by two
\ncommercial banks and one non-bank financial institution,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Ali Abul, who did not name the affected banks, said his bank
\nhad been directed to take a number of measures, including
\nenhancing ATM systems to detect and retain cloned cards.<\/p>\n
Other steps will include improving internal controls,
\nespecially with regard to the process that generates the cards'
\nsecurity numbers, closely monitoring transactions, and
\nidentifying suspicious withdrawals, he said.<\/p>\n
\"Although in terms of proportion, the number of cases of
\nunauthorized ATM withdrawals only accounts for three out of
\n100,000 of ATM transactions, the bank is treating this matter
\nseriously.<\/p>\n
\"It would continue to monitor the situation closely to ensure
\nthat the problem is eradicated as soon as possible,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Home Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi warned Friday that unless
\nsomething was done to check the problem, the public would lose
\nconfidence in the institution and start a run on the country's
\nbanks.<\/p>\n
Abdullah, who is also deputy prime minister, said that would
\nbe a disaster.<\/p>\n
\"Do not dismiss cases of unauthorized ATM withdrawals as
\ncustomers' negligence but get to the bottom of the matter,\" he
\nwas quoted as saying by the New Straits Times newspaper on
\nSaturday.<\/p>\n
A senior spokesman at police headquarters in Bukit Aman told
\nAFP a special unit of the commercial crime division has been
\nformed to tackle the problem.<\/p>\n
\"We are investigating. Reports (of monetary losses) are
\nincreasing,\" he said, but was unable to provide details.<\/p>\n
Since April 1, police have received more than 250 reports of
\nunauthorized bank withdrawals totaling 500,000 ringgit
\n(US$131,579).<\/p>\n
Newspapers and the state Bernama news agency Thursday said
\nmost affected were branches of the Ban Hin Lee Bank Bhd (BHL
\nBank), but that other banks had also been hit.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/kl-blames-criminals-for-atm-card-thefts-1447893297",
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