Regulatory Alerts2022-01-01
Circular No. 05/2022: Caution Regarding a Criminal Modus Operandi
The Palestine Monetary Authority issued Circular No. 05/2022 to alert all operating banks in Palestine about a criminal "inheritance scam" targeting citizens through social media and email impersonation. The circular mandates banks to educate customers on the scam's risks, disseminate warnings across their premises and official channels, and strictly implement the preventive controls outlined in Circular No. 2020/206. These measures aim to prevent fraud and money laundering predicate offenses by blocking the transfer of personal documents and fees to beneficiaries in South Africa, Thailand, and the Philippines under false pretenses of shared inheritance.
Palestine Monetary Authority PALESTINE MONETARY AUTHORITY
Circular No. (05 / 2022) To all banks operating in Palestine Date: Thursday, May 05, 2022
Subject: Caution Regarding a Criminal Modus Operandi
The Palestine Monetary Authority urges banks to take precautionary measures and adopt preventive procedures and controls sufficient to avoid a criminal modus operandi known as the "inheritance scam," which aims to defraud Palestinian citizens and steal their personal data and funds. This modus operandi involves citizens receiving messages via social media and email from individuals impersonating legal consultants or bank employees residing outside the State of Palestine, urging them to send personal documents and legal fees and court costs to specific beneficiaries in several countries, including (South Africa, Thailand, and the Philippines), under the guise of assisting in arranging legal documents to prove their relationship and kinship with a deceased wealthy individual who shares the victim's surname, in exchange for sharing the inheritance with the scammer.
In order to combat fraud and deception crimes that fall under predicate offenses for money laundering, the Palestine Monetary Authority emphasizes the necessity of adopting the required preventive controls and procedures, including:
- Educating customers about the criminal modus operandi and its risks, and warning them against falling victim to fraud and deception crimes, and working to disseminate this information across company premises and through their official social media channels.
- Implementing the preventive measures and procedures stipulated under Circular No. (2020/206).
Supervision Group Palestine Monetary Authority
Copy: To the esteemed Financial Monitoring Unit