SAMA: Identities of 4.8 million remotely opened accounts do not match their mobile numbers!
The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) revealed that there are about 4.84 million accounts opened remotely without verification that the customer’s identity number matches the identity number used in the mobile phone.
The total accounts opened remotely without verifying that the mobile number matches the user’s identity is about 55 percent of the total accounts.
SAMA acknowledged that there is a shortage of qualified cadres in the anti-financial fraud units, and this weakened in counting the types, methods, numbers and sizes of all fraud cases.
These included the fraudulent data of victim and beneficiary with a severe shortcoming in tracking funds resulting from fraud to stop them before transferring to outside the Kingdom.
There are weak procedures and mechanisms for receiving and dealing with fraud reports in terms of monitoring, investigations and reports, and poor efficiency of customer awareness programs in terms of the material and channels used, as well as weak operations control systems, which created a challenge in early detection and reduction of fraud cases.
Effective from Sunday, the Central Bank imposed a ban on expatriates from international transfers when the account was not activated through the branch or from self-service machines through using fingerprint.
It also suspended international transfers executed through the electronic service for a period of 24 hours for the first time, and for a period of two hours for a beneficiary who was previously transferred. The maximum limit for purchasing transactions for previously undocumented accounts has been set at SR20,000.
As for customers outside the Kingdom, the bank can set up a mechanism to document the account and raise the upper limit with the bank bearing the risks. The Central Bank had directed banks and money exchanges that the daily transfer limit through electronic services for all segments of bank customers is SR60,000.
SAMA acknowledged that there is a shortage of qualified cadres in the anti-financial fraud units, and this weakened in counting the types, methods, numbers and sizes of all fraud cases.
These included the fraudulent data of victim and beneficiary with a severe shortcoming in tracking funds resulting from fraud to stop them before transferring to outside the Kingdom.
There are weak procedures and mechanisms for receiving and dealing with fraud reports in terms of monitoring, investigations and reports, and poor efficiency of customer awareness programs in terms of the material and channels used, as well as weak operations control systems, which created a challenge in early detection and reduction of fraud cases.
Effective from Sunday, the Central Bank imposed a ban on expatriates from international transfers when the account was not activated through the branch or from self-service machines through using fingerprint.
It also suspended international transfers executed through the electronic service for a period of 24 hours for the first time, and for a period of two hours for a beneficiary who was previously transferred. The maximum limit for purchasing transactions for previously undocumented accounts has been set at SR20,000.
As for customers outside the Kingdom, the bank can set up a mechanism to document the account and raise the upper limit with the bank bearing the risks. The Central Bank had directed banks and money exchanges that the daily transfer limit through electronic services for all segments of bank customers is SR60,000.
