Millions of dollars lost to cyber crime in Fiji

Businesses in Fiji have lost FJD$1.4 million (US$667,000) to cyber criminals in the last three years.

Reserve Bank of Fiji statistics shows almost twenty one million transactions through ATMs, more than six million via EFTPOS, credit cards and internet banking.

Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) Director Razim Buksh says millions of dollars have been lost due to negligence on the part of businesses and suppliers abroad.

“Usually the consumers are found to be negligent in number of areas , including the commerce sector, the businessman who somehow compromise their email accounts, their own internet access, as a result of that somebody somewhere in the world hacks in to the system and then sends an instruction to the bank to remit money to the cyber criminal.”

Buksh says the Financial Intelligence Unit is watching over all financial transaction in Fiji including remittance transaction and cash transactions.

Meanwhile, Chief Justice Anthony Gates has weighed into debate surrounding the use of fake profiles on social media saying responsibility must be accepted for actions taken on posts made on the internet.

Speaking at the World Consumer Rights Day in Suva, Justice Gates suggested that anonymity must be eliminated from the internet.

Justice Gates says users must be made to reveal their identity as with mobile phones in order to access or post on line.

He says subversive, criminal, extremist, or pornographic sites should have no place either.

“Some other sites must also go such as how to make a bomb, be a terrorist, or child pornography information exchanges. There are many more of this type.”

He says there are technical adjustments that can be made to close up some of the worst portions of the internet.

“Normal life is normal life, and the internet cannot be allowed to be an unruly no-go unpoliced area. We need the internet but it must be a place of civilization, principle, and decency. How will we make it so”

The Chief Justice says media will also have to exercise extreme care when repeating what is said on social media

SOURCE: FBC NEWS/PACNEWS