Hackers Siphon $4m From Jamaican Banks Monthly As Cyber Theft Grows

[Chris]

Jamaica’s banks experience nearly two cyberattacks per week on average, and in one extreme month, hackers made off with $10 million, according to the latest official data.

The average losses, however, amount to just over $4 million per month.

“For those affected it is a significant loss and we are working with law enforcement because protecting customers’ privacy is critical,” said David Noel, president of the Jamaica Bankers Association and president and CEO of Scotia Group Jamaica.

The Bank of Jamaica also sees it as a rising problem for the banks themselves and is considering new rules to manage the risk.

Between January and September 2018, there were 62 counts of Internet banking fraud in Jamaica, totalling $38.2 million in losses – or $4.2 million per month on average – according to the newly released 2018 Financial Stability Report, which is published by the Bank of Jamaica.

Jamaica Gleaner article link

[BNOVA]

I saw that article and was shocked. I would have to research how this compares to global averages.

[Chris]

I saw that article and was shocked. I would have to research how this compares to global averages.

Also consider that these are JM$ numbers. When you convert to US$ it'll appear smaller in comparison. It's still a hit on the banks which WE as customers ultimately pay for.

[khat17]

I think quite a bit of it may be inside jobs. Something that happened to my father previously was all of his money (for medication and doctor visits) was transferred out of his account using Internet banking to multiple other accounts. He's never used Internet banking before - but someone set it up using his credentials. So while I know there are capable persons locally, I'm 75% of the opinion that it's inside jobs. 20% convinced that the capable persons are not interested. 5% convinced that it's actual "hackers" locally.