Cabinet approves cross-department anti-fraud measures

Taipei, Nov. 28 (CNA) The Executive Yuan on Thursday passed the "Next-generation anti-fraud strategy guidelines, version 2.0" and plan to launch cross-department operations to prevent the occurrence of fraud on Jan. 1, 2025.

The strategies seek to integrate identification, blocking, prevention and punishment related measures, in the hope of strengthening awareness of fraud, reducing the number of fraud cases and minimizing financial losses to fraud, according to the Cabinet.

In terms of identification, the Ministry of the Interior said it will disseminate information on related laws and seek to enhance anti-fraud awareness by employing different methods for different age groups.

The goal is to reach 50 million views, hold 500 educational lectures, send out 140 million anti-fraud related text messages and prevent at least NT$10 billion (US$307.12 million) in financial losses, the ministry said.

Regarding blocking, the National Communications Commission (NCC) said it has drafted regulations for telecom operators to access databases and verify the identities of users. Operators can restrict or reject telecom services to high-risk users to lower the possibility of fraudsters obtaining dummy phone numbers.

In addition, to prevent the prepaid SIM cards of foreign nationals from being misused by fraud syndicates, the NCC has launched efforts to strengthen related regulations.

On prevention, the Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA) said it will strengthen identity registration for the placement of advertisements on online platforms. Google, Line and Meta have all indicated that they will comply with new regulations on verifying applicants and sponsors of advertisements.

The ministry will seek to expand operations on stopping scam websites and blocking malicious links, with a target of blocking 30,000 scam websites per year.

Meanwhile, MODA has partnered with Apple to work on measures to prevent scams, such as analyzing topping up patterns for Apple IDs using artificial intelligence (AI).

The ministry has also established a query platform for virtual accounts on third party payment platforms. As a result, it will be possible to block payments from scammed accounts more quickly, thereby decreasing financial losses, it said.

It is also upgrading an internet scamming report and query website, which will be launched after testing is complete, the ministry said.

In addition, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) will set up a mechanism to flag domestic financial accounts suspected of being used for fraudulent purposes, as well as step up measures such as monitoring financial institutions to ensure they enhance measures to prevent dummy accounts and check credit card transactions.

The FSC also pointed out that there is a platform for credit card issuers to share information on unauthorized charges.

As for punishment, the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) said it will enhance efforts to confiscate the proceeds of fraud and repay victims.

Meanwhile, it will hold at least 500 meetings annually to interact and exchange information with overseas institutions, including cooperation to crack down on cross-border fraud activities, the MOJ said.