Regulatory Alerts2022-01-01
Circular No. 260 (2022) on Social Media Pages for Money Changers
The Palestine Monetary Authority issued Circular No. 260 (2022) to combat fraudulent social media pages impersonating licensed financial institutions and money changers. The circular mandates that all money exchange companies providing remittance services must verify their official social media pages with a blue badge by the end of 2022, regularly educate the public about legitimate services and cybercrime tactics, and report impersonating pages or links to the Public Prosecution’s Cybercrime Unit and the Authority’s AML/CFT department. These measures aim to prevent citizens from falling victim to phishing scams, fake prize draws, and unauthorized financial transactions.
Palestine Monetary Authority PALESTINE MONETARY AUTHORITY
Circular No. (260 / 2022) To all money exchange companies operating in Palestine Date: Sunday, October 16, 2022
Subject: Social Media Pages
It has recently been observed that some unknown individuals have created counterfeit social media pages bearing the names of certain financial institutions licensed by the Palestine Monetary Authority, particularly banks and money exchange companies; the aim is to defraud citizens, hack their personal and financial data, and steal their funds. These pages promote calls for social media users to disclose their personal and banking details to enter draws for financial and in-kind prizes, or encourage them to send external or rapid money transfers for negligible amounts for the purpose of (buying so-called frozen dollars, or obtaining assistance in securing facilities and loans from entities not legally authorized to provide such services).
In our commitment to combating fraud and cybercrime, and to minimize the risk of clients and citizens falling victim to such crimes, we emphasize the necessity of taking the following necessary measures:
- Verify the social media pages of money exchange companies providing remittance services with the blue verification badge, no later than the end of the current year.
- Educate clients and the general public about the official page and the financial services provided by money changers offering remittance services, as well as inform them about criminal methods, with such information to be published periodically via the money exchange company's social media channels.
- Take legal measures to combat these crimes; this includes reporting to the Cybercrime Unit of the Public Prosecution any pages or links impersonating the name and status of a money changer, and notifying our Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Department accordingly.
Supervision Department Palestine Monetary Authority