Personal accounts hit by online scams

• No incidents of accounts of banking systems or financial institutions being hacked have been reported   
• Only personal account holders have fallen prey so far   
• People warned to be careful when renting out houses on long term basis   
• Hundreds of scammers netted in a short time 
• Investigations have revealed that those who rent out their premises were aware of scams being operated in their premises

By Ajith Siriwardana

Amidst mounting cases of online scams in Sri Lanka, Police warned that online scammers hacked only personal accounts and that no incidents of accounts of banking systems or financial institutions had been reported in Sri Lanka or anywhere in the world.   

Police spokesman DIG Nihal Thalduwa said several incidents of hacking personal accounts of people had been reported where millions of rupees had been defrauded by the scammers.

He said a personal account in a leading private bank was hacked and scammed some Rs.80 million recently.   

The Spokesman said individuals get caught to these scams due to their irresponsible behaviour and negligence, the banks have no responsibility to the financial losses caused to the account holders.   

Speaking at the weekly cabinet briefing, DIG Thalduwa said more than 200 foreigners including Chinese people were arrested after raiding cyber camps in different parts of the country in the recent past and taken into custody some 500 mobile phones and 250 laptop computers.   

He said the scammers lodge in hotels and houses and pointed out that investigations have revealed that those who rent out their premises were aware of the scams being operated in their premises.   

The DIG said these scammers infiltrate into foreign and local accounts and defraud money in millions as crypto currency.   

When asked whether there is any special reason for these scammers selecting Sri Lanka for setting up cyber camps, he said no specific reason has been identified and said some sociological reason might have impacted. “There could be some reasons for scammers to select Sri Lanka. It could be that Sri Lankans are easily prone to get caught to such captivating messages on financial offers due to  economic hardships and they rent out places to set up camps easily,” he added.   

Meanwhile, Cabinet Spokesman Minister Vijitha Herath said online scams were operating in other countries such as Myanmar where a group of Sri Lankans were also held by the scammers for their financial frauds.   

He said investigation will be launched to ascertain whether Sri Lanka has become a hub for online scams.   

“Sri Lanka police raided two major online scam camps during the recent one and half weeks. There may be many more such camps in Sri Lanka.We request people to be on alert on the matter and pay special attention when renting out houses without considering only financial gains.   

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka has sought engagement with China in containing online scamming involving Chinese nationals, a diplomatic source said .   

According to the source , such Chinese nationals involved in online fraud have focused their attention to Sri Lanka for their dubious operation.   

The Chinese Embassy in Colombo issuing a statement recently said that China is closely following the recent arrests of Chinese nationals in Sri Lanka for suspected online fraud and is supporting Sri Lankan law enforcement agencies in cracking down on them, while ensuring their rights and interests are protected in accordance with the law.   

The Chinese Embassy highlighted that these cases not only pose a threat to the property of the two peoples, but also seriously damage China’s image and affect the traditional friendship between the two countries.   

Chinese Embassy said it will provide full support to Sri Lankan law enforcement agencies in “resolutely cracking down on suspects while protecting their legitimate rights and interests in accordance with the law.”