Circular No. 260 (2022) on Social Media Pages for Money Changers

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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

--- www.pma.ps
Ramallah and Al-Bireh Governorate - Palestine P.O. Box 452 | Tel: +970 2 2415251 | Fax: +970 2 2415310 | info@pma.ps Gaza - Palestine P.O. Box 4026 | Tel: +970 8 2825713 | Fax: +970 8 2844487

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