Sri Lanka to crackdown on Internet fraud
View(s):In the wake of rapidly increasing online financial fraud, Sri Lanka has taken measures to strengthen laws and regulations aimed at preventing computer crimes.
The Finance Ministry is working with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in strengthening laws to crack down on Internet financial crimes, a top official of the Treasury told the Business Times.
Anti-money laundering compliance has been enhanced by introducing amendments to the Trust Ordinance, Companies Act, and enactment of the Proceeds of Crimes Act, enhancing Customer Due Diligence Rules, and regulations on targeted financial sanctions on proliferations.
Financial frauds via Internet have increased with the momentum in online buying and selling as well as business-to-consumer trading, he said adding that incidents related to email abuse and pyramid schemes were also among the complaints.
Mobile phone scams have also risen within Sri Lanka recently. From text message scams to phone insurance scams, reports have revealed that Sri Lankan mobile users are now being constantly targeted by local and foreign scammers with many being defrauded out of large amounts of cash
The Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team Coordination Centre (SLCERT CC) has received 1100 complaints relating to online financial frauds and 10 complaints on email frauds so far this year.
According to SLCERT, fake account crimes are major crimes committed in Sri Lanka.