BANKS, specifically “unauthorized” transactions involving them, would be included in an investigation on credit card fraud currently pursued at the Senate.
Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian, vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies, said last Wednesday they are focusing the probe into efforts of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and private banks to safeguard the interests of bank clients.
Gatchalian observed that since he was victimized by credit card racketeers, the complaints from other scan victims continue to mount, as his office continue to receive complaints from similar victims of “unauthorized on-line bank fund transfers and credit card transactions.”
“The poor victims do not know where to go to lodge their complaints,” the Senator said, even as the lawmaker likewise lamented the absence of a clear process to quickly respond to the victims complaints.”
Gatchalian signaled the focus of their proceedings involves efforts on the part of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the banks in safeguarding the interests of the consumers.
He added that Senate probers are now considering to endorse the passage of remedial legislation “mandating consumer protection and education as one of the primary and strategic objectives of financial regulators to allow them to address financial inclusion and minimize fraudulent transactions from occurring.”
Gatchalian explains this will “spare the victims of fraudulent and unauthorized bank and credit card transactions from the tedious litigation process, which often takes months and even years.”
The senator indicated such a proposal is aimed at empowering financial regulators and strengthening their enforcement powers, insofar as consumer protection is concerned, “to ensure that financial institutions comply with financial consumer protection regulations.”
“It is like a double whammy for the victims who already lost their hard-earned money to fraudsters and then spend some more just so justice could be served,” Gatchalian said.
He added that “aside from consumer protection, there are a number of issues that need to be addressed especially on the aspect of cyber security—the challenges and best practices. Banks are very attractive targets for hackers and scammers especially during this time of the pandemic.”